Mother's Day

Okay, so I lied the other day about it probably being the last post of Kole pics as an only child. We had a really nice Mother's Day this year with a big breakfast for my Mom, Rachel, Matt, Seth and Kole. Seth cooked us an egg scramble and Rachel and Matt brought over yummy deli bagels with cream cheese. It was a really nice time. Seth, Kole, Jersey and I all tooks cat naps in the afternoon and played in the house. I ended up getting out of the house for a short while to get Kole's sandbox (FINALLY!) and to hit up the Goodwill store one last time before the baby comes. Whew, did I hit the jackpot at Goodwill! Lots of summertime play clothes for Kole and some are for the start of summer and some for the end as they are different sizes. I realized that he's going to need some play clothes he can get dirty and stained if he's going to be outside in his sandbox and at the park this summer. Good thing I only paid $1 for each piece of clothing!! Next month I think we'll venture to the Stride Rite store and pick up a pair of summer sandals for Kole--who wants to wear socks and sneakers all summer??

Posting a couple of videos of Kole playing the "hiding" game. He LOVES to hide and then have someone jump out and scare him. He laughs so hard. Last week we played this and I scared him so silly he screamed like a girl, slid on a book in his room and fell down. I was in tears laughing so hard and Kole thought it was the best thing in the world to happen to him!! He even says "raaaar" when he "jumps" out to "scare" me. What a hoot!

Last week while Grammy was babysitting Kole she was taking pics of him with her camera and let him press some buttons on it and even take some pics on his own. The poor camera is now dead thanks to Kole and currently residing with his other toys since it is no longer functionable. I warned that Grammy....I think she just wanted an excuse to buy a new camera :) Kole thinks its fun to snap pictures and even "looks" through the finder to take the photo. I caught a couple of these moments on MY camera (that works and he'll never get his grubby paws on).

Hoping for Seth to get Kole's sandbox set up tonight or tomorrow so they can play in it and I can play photographer and post pics of how much he either likes it or hates it.

"hiding" in the closet but whining for some reason when he shuts the door on himself. Over and over and over. What a goofy kid!

Our "hiding" game. It can get pretty loud but this one is very tame :)

Nesting

Oh boy have I been nesting the past couple of weeks!! I've been working on little craft projects, throwing stuff away, sorting through some junk, selling stuff on craigslist (and bought a new pack n play on craigslist since we needed another one for Kole to sleep in when we go away overnight). I finally finished Emma's tutu (using this tutorial) and decided that she needed a onesie to go with it since we can't have her diaper showing with just a regular shirt. I put some of my craft websites to work on that and ended up with a cute shirt and another one (a practice one) for Kole too. I made some "dolly diapers" for both Kole and Emma and tonight I sewed up a nursing cover for myself. Now, it looks totally like an apron but this is how they are supposed to look. You can spend big bucks on these things but I ended up using some fabric I had at home and found several free online tutorials (I used this one) on how to make them. I did not use one when I was nursing Kole but I had the luxury of feeding him behind closed doors when I needed to. I'm not so sure I'll have that luxury this time around so I thought a nice cover would do the trick. It was really easy and cost me about $2.00 for the boning near the top and the D-rings. The fabric was something I had here. Not too shabby and better than paying $25 plus for one.
I have also been trying to figure out how to post our telephone videos on the blog or at least email them so we can see them besides on our phones. I finally figured it out and have posted a bunch of old videos from my phone below.
I think the pregnancy insomnia might be kicking in as well. I don't know if you can tell but I'm writing this at 1:50am. *sigh* I am just starting to get tired. I wish I had this much energy a couple of months ago! One week and three days to go and I won't be nearly as energetic as I am now so I guess I better enjoy it while I can. Okay, off to bed I go since Seth is fishing (probably one last time until who knows when) in the morning and I will be on Mommy duty until he gets home.

My new nursing cover (not the cutest but it will do just fine and decent enough to use in public if need be)



My first attempt at appliques. Worked well, just tedious.


Yes, I dressed Kole in Emma's tutu, BUT I needed a "model" to see how it fit around the waist. I think she's a bit taller but it will be fine and it looks way longer than it is b/c the waist needed to be taken in. I tried it on again the other day and it was much better :) I couldn't resist taking a picture. I'll probably pull this picture out when he starts dating. Or maybe use it in a "graduation photo montage..." Mean, mean mommy....




Teasing Jersey...typical.


"playing" with Jersey


Kole's FIRST time climbing on the furniture with no help. I literally found him like this after stepping out of the living room for like a minute.


Working on some coloring


Helping mommy feel better while she had a cold


Bowling (just last week). Or Bom-bom as he called it.


Totally goofy kid, but he's all MINE :)

Kole growing up

Well, Kole will be a big brother very soon. Two weeks to be exact. This may be Kole's last time on the blog being an only child :) He's been a busy little boy lately; he's been up to the cabin with my Dad and Deb and running around the house like he owns the place!! The weather has been really nice so we've been outside a little bit. The backyard is not the most ideal place to play but at least it's fenced in and I don't have to chase him around. He mainly just walks around and picks the weeds out of the grass. He's not too fond of falling down and getting his hands dirty though. Oh brother, he needs to get over that quick!! Kole had a blast with my dad and Deb up north. LOTS of playing outside, swinging on the new swingset that his Papa Tom built, walks and even a short ride on the quad. He played AND slept like a champ! I think he came home with a little more "hair on his chest" from hanging out in the woods with his Papa :)
We've been very blessed and grateful to have some good babysitters help out with Kole while I've been resting and taking it easy. Papa Snoop came over for a couple of days while Seth worked late to help out. I bet he was just as tired as Kole was at the end of the day---he helped with the cooking, picking up and taking care of Kole! He is a busy little boy!!! He still LOVES Sesame Street and his drumming. He's been trying out more words here and there lately; can't quite get the whole word out but he's trying and usually gets the correct number of syllables. Today we were bowling inside and he says "bum bum" for bowling. Close, right? Kole also LOVES his flash cards! I bought a couple of packs of them a while back and when I ask Kole if he wants to play them he gets SO EXCITED!! He loves telling me what the cards are: dog, cat, (still making the noises vs. what they are called, but he gets it at least), balloon (bum bum also), ball, baby, etc... he does his best to copy me and what I say. He has a few colors that he knows---well, he knows the names of the colors, I don't think he ALWAYS knows the actual color: green, blue, yellow, and purple. He learns something new everyday I think :
Like I said before, two more weeks to go and the new baby will be here. I am totally ready to NOT be pregnant anymore and looking forward to getting into a normal routine again. Which reminds me, Seth came home with some great news the other day. He won yet another Winner's Circle trip!!! This time around the contest was a little different (don't ask though, b/c I don't really know those details though) and the trips are now to places that GFS services. So, this year the trip is at the end of June and it's to Chicago. I am planning on going as of now, but leaving a 6 week old baby is not something I'm really excited about. It's really not that far away and it's for a long weekend so I think/hope I'll be able to handle it. It might be our last "getaway" with no kids for a while so maybe I'll just have to suck it up. We'll be taking applications for babysitters in June very soon....
Enjoy some pics and vids of Kole being an only child... :)


Bowling (with no ball this time)

STRIKE!

He's not yelling, he's just surprised at something he just saw. This is his new thing...

Takin' a walk up north on Forman Road

The photo doesn't show it but he really enjoyed the swinging. According to my dad it was the first place he'd run to when going outside and kept doing the sign for "more" when he took him out of the swing

Looks like Kole found the books at the cabin

Begging to go outside

On the quad

Stroller ride with Grammy

Picking weeds in the backyard

"Hiding" behind the trees

In the backyard

"Walk softly and carry a big stick"

At the park with Seth on Saturday

Bowling "bum-bum" in the living room

Getting Ready

We've been getting ready for the baby to arrive the past couple of weeks. As you know Seth (and Jersey) are sleeping in the baby's room on the mattress on the floor. After lots of deliberation, Seth decided he wanted to paint the baby's room after all. We went back and forth but in the end he said that he wanted the baby to have a nice room, not just a gray color room. Also, he said he wanted to try out a new kind of painter's tape so it was a three way win---the baby has nice chocolate color walls in his/her room, Seth got to test out his painter's tape and new kind of paint with the primer built in (both were a success), and I will enjoy picking out nice bedding for the baby. It's pretty dark, but I really like it and it's exactly what I thought it would be. This past weekend Mary Rose and Carey came into town and Carey helped Seth put the new crib together while Mary Rose and I battled Babies R Us to get a mattress and some other odds and ends that the baby needs. $230 later..... We got the grill out on Saturday evening and grilled up some brats and dogs for the family. Mmmmm.....they were sooooo good!
I've been getting some wonderful help from our family over the last few weeks in regards to Kole. It's pretty hard on me taking care of him all day (oh, that kid is heavy when you lift him) so in order to keep baby #2 safe and healthy until May 17th, we have Sarah coming over a couple times per week to watch Kole while I lay in bed. My mom has taken some days off of work to help out and Aunt Laura and Aunt Rosie are also helping out. Kole head out to sleep-away-campt at the cabin with my Dad and Deb this weekend and a few days next week. It really makes a difference getting off of my feet for the day and it makes things easier the next time I spend the day with Kole. Thanks to all my sitters!!! We have been watching our fair share of TV lately though which I am not proud of but really having Kole sit still for an hour helps out! Sesame Street is Kole's favorite show at this point---he's actually learning from it believe it or not! He's learned how to play the drums and it's one of his favorite things to do these days. He has a couple of paint stirrers from Home Depot that he uses as sticks and drums on just about anything! He's learning how to jump and also sings along with some of the songs and tries to "count" with the kids on the show. He gets so excited when I turn the show on, thank GOD for DVR---we have a bunch of episodes recorded.
Last week I came down with a cold that turned into a sinus infection. Nothing like being sick with not being able to take anything to feel better AND being 34 weeks pregnant. I did end up seeing the doctor and getting an antibiotic for the infection so that was good. I feel better now and hope I don't catch anything else! I also hope that I didn't get Mary Rose or Carey sick over the weekend :(
Kole has been running around like a chicken with his head cut off lately and climbing on everything he can. Not only is he just climbing, he's now been brave enough to climb from one thing to the next. For example, he climbs in the red chair near the window. Then he'll climb over the arm of the chair and into the window sill. Sometimes he'll just straddle the arm of the chair until someone walks in the room or we tell him NO NO. He TOTALLY knows he's doing something wrong and giggles and laughs when you "catch" him doing it. He's actually had a few time outs in his crib already. He's testing the waters and pushing our buttons. Seth and I already discussed that in the world of discipline, I'll be the bad cop and he'll be the good cop since he doesn't like putting Kole in time-outs. I have no issue with it especially when Kole laughs and giggles when you try disciplining him. He understands way more than people give him credit for.... :)
Here are a couple of pics and a video of Kole. Enjoy!


My sweet Princess Jersey



Cuddling with Seth in bed (mattress). They BOTH love this.


Kole LOVES to wear other people's shoes. Yes, he does walk around in them... I think Sarah's are his favorite.

Kole goofing around with a tee-shirt of Seth's wrapped around him.

My vegetable hater eating a green bean! This only lasted like two times though.

Baby's room. Chocolate Swirl walls.

Blue and brown-ish bedding for a boy and Pink and brown-ish bedding for a girl.

climbing

Spring Break and Easter Sunday

Be sure to check out the blog post just before this one---I posted it just yesterday if you didn't see it. Also, for this post I will have a guest doing the blogging. Enjoy!
Hi. It's Kole here. I wanted to tell you about my Spring Break and my Easter Sunday. Since my mommy wasn't there for my Spring Break I thought I better do the blogging this time around. My Nana picked me up on a Monday morning and took me for a long drive to Bay City for "sleep-away-camp". I slept most of the way so I don't remember much. I do know that I was happy to be going away in the car though; I couldn't wait to leave the house!! We arrived to Nana and Papa's house and it seemed a little strange to me. All of the picture frames were put up real high so I couldn't look at them and some other things were put away where I couldn't reach them. Also, the funniest part was that the dining room table was tipped over in the hallway and was blocking me from leaving the living room! I had lots of room to run around and play though and I got to play with some toys I hardly ever see so that was pretty cool. I didn't know it before, but the family room has two doors that pull out of the wall to keep it closed off. Or at least that's what Nana and Papa thought. I figured out pretty quickly that I could squeeze my small hands between the doors and use all my might to open them back up. It was fun to see the look on their faces when the doors were open and they didn't know how it happened! The weather was so nice outside we played outdoors quite often. Papa and I took walks and played with my bubble mower and we even had a visit from the neighbor girls and also Aunt Ann! We went out to eat with some friends of Nana and Papa's and they were real nice. We ate at Ponderosa and at a hamburger place. It was fun to meet new people! I played rock band with Papa on his keyboard and also did some drumming with some spoons in the kitchen. On Friday we got in the car for another long drive. This time it was back to Grand Rapids to see my mom and dad. However, we did make a stop along the way to a zoo! I got to see a cow, a horse, and a cool colorful bird. There weren't many animals out so I think that Nana and Papa need to take me again :) It was nice to see my mom and dad when I got home and I was really happy to see my dog, Jersey. I missed pulling her tail and teasing her and I'm sure she missed me too. I got to help my dad and Papa move some furniture out of the extra bedroom to the basement. Well, I guess I just stayed out of the way, mostly. Too bad the extra bed didn't fit downstairs. My daddy is sleeping on that mattress in an empty extra bedroom that will soon be my brother or sister's room. Jersey is sleeping in the bed with Daddy now too!! On Easter Sunday I woke up early but later on I got to open up a bucket with some presents in it from my mom and dad! I found Goldfish crackers! A bubble gun! Flash cards! Later on, we went over to Aunt Joanne's house for an Easter lunch. It was so good; I sure love ham and rolls!! I didn't like the other food though, just the ham and bread. I played outside with Sarah and Aunt Joanne and went for a little walk too. It was so nice outside! My mom even sat outside for a little bit and played my bubble gun with me; those bubbles are so neat! I was pretty tired out so I took a nice nap in the afternoon while my daddy took Jersey for a walk and my mommy rested. It was so fun to go away to sleep-away-camp at Nana and Papa's house and it was a nice time on Easter to spend with my family. Here are some pictures of my trip to Nana and Papa's house and a couple from the weekend. It was nice blogging, my Mommy will be back next time!



Laying around in Mommy's bed before Daddy tried to move it downstairs

Uh, Hi everyone. Jersey and I are bonding.

I shut the door on Jersey and I. It's fun in her crate

Here I am opening the doors to the family room at Nana and Papa's house

Doing some climbing

A fun spot to play--the bookshelf!

Peeking over that silly table that was tipped over!

Playing the piano with Papa

Aunt Ann came to visit me!!

On a walk with Papa

Playing "bang-bang" with a spoon

Hanging out with my new friends

Taking a walk. My hat looks a little small I think. Mommy! Time for a new one!

Me and my Nana

Playing toys

I love this bookshelf

Running out of my fort that Papa made

I'm so bummed to be going home...