Up, up, and away... and its Over!

This past Saturday, we had Cole's birthday party. Fitting to the little man's obsession, we had an airplane theme. The invitations were boarding passes...
I made cupcakes and spray painted wooden aircraft (and found Oreos with the same color icing as the cupcakes)...

I stamped table coverings with planes, captain wings that said "Big Boy" and of course, the number 2...

We went all out on food, and ordered pizza and wings, too...

We had airport theme signs (and a Logo sign that matched the logo from the invite)...

The bathroom and restricted access sign

Of course our gates and terminals were all "2's"

We had "arrivals"

and "departures"

And, of course, had planes and clouds hanging from the ceiling! I even ordered one of those planes you hang from the ceiling and it just flies around in circles!

We had wooden gliders and airplane shaped suckers for favors and I sent the kids home with cardboard "wings" to decorate and wear on their arms (like they were planes)...

We had lots of good friends (about 30!)

We also decorated foam airplanes...

Here was Gaga helping Cole with like his second or third plane!

It was all very exciting!...

Cole got tons of cool gifts (including a book of "Insults and Comebacks," just what every two year old needs, haha)...

I also made his FABULOUS shirt!

He was so excited about his new bike from his great grandparents and my parents, but isn't quite tall enough for it yet...

But who needs to reach pedals when you can just put your feet up on the frame and have dad push you around?

I think his favorite part may have been the helmet. I was trying them on him one day at the store, and he has been obsessed ever since.
He wasn't too sure about the candle on his cupcake.
But the next day he found an even better use for his helmet. He wore it while riding the 70 with dad!

All in all we think he enjoyed his birthday party. Sadly, we had friends get stuck on I-17 behind a fatal crash (3 people were airlifted, 2 of them died), so one family turned around and went home, one's journey turned into a 2 1/2 hour trip (our same friend who watched a helicopter crash the last time he came up), and another family's journey turned into a 4 hour affair! We were glad they still came, rather than turn back! We loved having everyone come, and I was so grateful for the help I received with decorating and setting up from family!

Happy Birthday, Cole!

June 2007

(Yes, he really did sleep like that, and yes, he sometimes still does!) June 2008
June 2009
(Doing his cheesy camera smile!)

I still can't believe my little boy turned two yesterday! (and I commend my husband and myself for getting him there!) Two years is really such a small amount of time, yet it feels like he's been a part of our lives forever! He is such a joy and I spend the majority of my day in fits of laughter at his antics- that is, of course, when I am not in fits of displeasure at some of his other antics. Like, yesterday, we started out the morning with a "beautiful art project." Now, Cole did not get in trouble for this because a) it was his birthday and b) I had forgotten to get rid of the darned calligraphy ink after the last episode! Although, this time he was much more creative and dipped a foam brush into the pot and proceeded to "paint" the mirrors. He was so proud and I only realized what had happened once he became distressed at the ink on his fingers and came to show me. Oh well!

We didn't have much going on yesterday, our speech guy cancelled on us (again!) because he had family in town, so I took Cole to In-N-Out for a burger and chocolate shake!

I also managed to talk Abe into taking Cole to Macayos for dinner (after our last breakfast episode, I didn't think he would, but finally he agreed). Cole loves chips and salsa, and I was hoping they would maybe sing to him (he would've loved that). But, I think, due to the fact that there were literally like two waitresses working, the singing was a no go. Oh well! He'll get sung to at his party this weekend!
Can you tell Cole takes his chips and salsa seriously? He even took the salt shaker and dusted his chips (I'm going to blame the observation of that bad deed on one of my siblings, though I'm not sure which one, cause I'm pretty sure they all do it)


He was certainly hamming it up last night, and he even started jamming out once we left the restaurant to the Jack Johnson song that was playing outside.


We haven't gotten his "big" birthday present yet (I know- we're pretty bad about doing things on time- but hopefully soon!) but we did take him to the store and let him pick out whatever he wanted. The garbage truck won (of course! He still has an unnatural obsession with garbage/garbage cans/ trucks, etc.) He was so excited! He has been saying "hi" and "bye" (his new word he started Sunday) to the stinking thing all day!


So overall, I think he had a great day (chocolate shakes, chips and salsa, garbage trucks- what more could a boy want?) It still makes me sad to think how much he's growing, and that he's becoming a little boy, and not my little baby anymore. Plus, I think with him not talking, it makes it more difficult to not keep thinking of him as my baby boy. A friend of mine said it best this morning- He is now a one year old with experience! And I don't think I could have summed him up better!


On a side note, it was also Dozer's birthday this past Friday (the 19th). I remembered on Saturday, so I was only a day late this year (that's the best I've done at remembering in at least 5 years! Poor dog!) He is now 8 years old. Again, so sad to think how much he's grown and all he has been through with us!

We also had a great Father's Day. Abe just wanted to stay home this year, so Cole and I woke up and made him breakfast burritos (complete with eggs, potatoes, onions, jalapenos, green chilies, bacon and of course, cheese) and then finished off the day with filet mignon, new york strip, and LOADED twice baked potatoes! Cole loves his dad so much, and we are so lucky that he is such the awesome guy that he is!

I haven't had a chance to download pics lately, but I wanted to give a quick update. We made an impromptu trip to Phoenix last weekend, and have still been trying to recover. I have been coming down/getting over something, which has made our recovery a little slower than normal. Cole has been his normal, rambunctious self. I am currently trying to finalize his birthday party arrangements. I took Dozer to a groomer here in town (he's there as we speak, and I'm a nervous wreck since he's been going to the same groomer in Phoenix for over 7 years!) so, we'll see how that goes. But the best part is its the middle of June, and we have not even considered turning our A/C on!!! How fantastic is that? When we went to bed last night, it was 58 degrees outside!!! It's been nice not having it be so hot, but it would also be nice to be able to take Cole to the pool/splash park without worrying if he'll get sick from the cold! Oh well, better than what we've been used to with those Phoenix summers!

This just about sums up our weekend. It was one of the busiest weekends we've had in a long time. We started off Friday with a play group, then nap (Cole never seems to nap as long as I would like him to!), and then went with Tim and Katy to Skull Valley (little town about a 30 min drive from Prescott, 2003 census puts the population at 525!!!- that's the size of my graduating class!) where Katy's old roommate owns the only cafe and serves dinner every other Friday evening. The food was fantastic (almost all of us ordered prime rib, since there were literally 4 options, one of which had sold out) and I am sure we will go back some time in the future.

Saturday started off with a trip to the farmer's market at Yavapai College, where Abe's co-worker has a stand for his BBQ business. I bought some hummus, fresh pita chips, and Cole and I shared some peach cobbler from the BBQ stand.

We also got a phone call that morning from some Phoenix friends (aka Abe's old boss) saying that they were up for the day for their son's baseball game in Prescott Valley. We swung by and watched a little of the game, caught up with each other's lives, and chased Cole around the bleachers, into the bull pen, and off the field.

Cole obviously didn't even make it out of the parking lot before he was asleep. While he napped I got ready for my Mom's Club Banquet (big party at the end of our "year" where everyone said thank you to the old board and hello to the new- although, sadly, most of my board was unable to make it!) We met at a mexican restaurant downtown and all had a great time! I even won a door prize for having the most interesting/entertaining story. We were supposed to write down something about ourselves (old or recent) that no one would know, and then guess who belonged to each. I told about the time when myself and two friends faked our own abduction, including ransom requests, when we were 14, as an April Fool's prank, and got grounded for a month (I thought this would be an entertaining anecdote in a group full of moms, and I was right!)

While I was at the banquet, Abe's old boss and family came to the house to check it out (they were impressed with the view, but who isn't?) and then they, too, headed downtown for dinner. They went to the Palace, and, as I understand, had a great time. Cole loves whenever he can get some extra attention, and it sounds as though he did. After I got home, we made a "quick" trip to a friends house to pick up Bob's old quad. We ended up being there a little longer than I had anticipated, but enjoyed the visit and acquired a quad (broken or not!)

Sunday morning, we went down to Lynx Lake and had breakfast at the cafe there. Cole was being his usual terrible two self. Abe really doesn't have patience for that sort of thing, so we ate and left, skipping Abe's intended walk around the lake. We came home and spent the rest of the day, trying to recover from the weekend and having a mini-Star Wars marathon. Cole enjoyed it (surprisingly!) and would go and grab his light saber (a gift from Lance and Ady) during every fight scene, saying zzzssshht, zzzsshht, with every swipe and stab. (the pic above is from him finally succumbing to his exhaustion during one of the movies)

It was an exhausting, yet entertaining, weekend, and we are counting down the days till the next one.

Speech

I just wanted to update that Cole had his first speech therapy session yesterday. I guess it went okay. The guy, Andrew, just brought a bunch of toys and tried to encourage Cole to at least make the consonant sounds for some of them. I think Cole's opinion of the whole venture was more of a "forget you, now could you just leave the toys and go?" We'll have to see if it goes any better in two weeks since Andrew will be on vacation next week. He also says he may not bring as many toys next time, to hopefully keep Cole's attention a little better.

I also just wanted to mention I scored an awesome coupon to Old Navy in their weekly scavenger hunt. I've been trying for a few weeks, finding only mediocre coupons ( $10 of $50 purchase, 25%, etc.) but this week I scored $50 off a $100 purchase!!!! I'm totally psyched and proud of my sleuthing! Just wanted to share!

Boy for Sale

2007 Model- not even two years old! Still has plenty of years in him.

Runs Great! Sometimes a little too well, actually.

Very low maintenance- ah, who am I kidding?





Been immaculately maintained- all check ups and inoculations current

Ride can be a bit bumpy sometimes, nothing a time out won't eventually fix.

All reasonable offers will be considered.




Does need some extra cleaning and requires extra supervision






Cole got into something, yet again! This time it was a long forgotten bottle of calligraphy ink (from when I addressed my wedding invitations!) Here's the thing, this kid knows he's not supposed to be doing these things! When I went in to check on him (again, I was checking my email while trying to get ready to rush out to playgroup), as soon as he saw me, he went running away as fast as he could! I'm pretty sure he has ruined his new shirt, but fortunately he took the cushion off before he dumped the bottle's contents on the bench. He did drive a few of his cars through the puddle, and did try to "clean" off his hands on the carpet. It looks as though Spot Shot may have saved the day, yet again (I really should write a testimonial to those people!), and fortunately wiped off the bench pretty easily. His fingers (and mine, for that matter) are still black, as well as his hair, nose, and tongue ( don't ask me how that happened!)

He really isn't for sale, OBVIOUSLY- but I am threatening him with Craig's List now instead of the baby drop!

A little of what we've been up to...

This won't be an elaborate post, just a quick update.

Cole playing in the park at playgroup. He loved this motorcycle, and would climb up on it by himself (it was nearly as tall as he was!)
A little girl at playgroup brought her doll and stroller. Cole and his friend, Drew, would take turns pushing the stroller while the other walked in his wake. It was too funny!

Sunday, Paula came to visit and we swung by Abe's bridge (which is quickly approaching completion!) Here's Abe and Cole checking it all out. (In the distance, you can just make out the Fann Yard, and Abe's office is just on the other side)

We had our first snake (well, at least that I've seen) on Sunday, also. It was just a baby bull snake (Abe said there was a full grown one in the storage space beneath the house, when we first moved in). I was just grateful it wasn't a rattler, our neighbor was in their front yard shooting at one with a pellet gun when Cole and I were out of town a few weekends ago.

That's pretty much it. Pretty uninteresting- sorry!