Spring Break 2011

Ben didn't get much of a Spring Break this year. He had school stuff to do almost every day, but we did get to see him more than usual so we were happy. We even got him to take a day trip with us! Cole had an appointment with Dr. Hong, his rheumatologist, so we headed to Iowa City. Not my first choice for a getaway, but we made it fun anyway.

We saw the Iowa State University stadium...

...and the U of I Museum of Natural History

You may have noticed there isn't much to Iowa City besides the university. We certainly noticed. Luckily Cole and Elise liked the museum a lot more than I thought they would.

We also got to see the Morman Handcart Memorial (which was only a plaque and a walking path, also on the university grounds), the Amana Colonies, and the Tanger Outlets on our way home.

Cole and I also got to have a date to the movies. We saw the movie "Gnomeo and Juliet". It was a fun date, mostly due to the popcorn. Cole couldn't sit through the whole movie, but he had no trouble finishing off the tub of popcorn :)

Like I said, it wasn't a very exciting Spring Break as far as Spring Breaks go...but it was very exciting for us to have Ben around every single day!!

Sweet boy...

Lucky Me

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Des Moines knows how to celebrate this holiday! We went downtown to the parade this morning. I was surprised how decked out everyone was. We saw all sorts of green wigs and hats, a lot of hair dying (on the head and face), green eyelashes and makeup, and an assortment of leprechaun accessories. It was quite the sight!

There was a lot of beads and candy being thrown. We were a lot smaller and slower than most of the parade watchers (since this is a holiday where adults act like kids and get drunk by lunchtime) so we didn't get as much as most. Two strings of beads and a pocket full of candy is plenty! We were very happy with what we got :)

To make our Lucky Day even better, it reached 70 degrees here in West Des Moines!! We spent a sunny afternoon outside enjoying the warmth, the ever-present wind, and breaking in Cole's tricycle and Ellie's car.

I am so lucky to have my two cute kiddos to share every day with!

Cole Can Read!

Cole knows his letters pretty well but wasn't quite understanding that multiple letters make up a word. He would just look at the first letter of a word and guess words that started with that letter. Last night we were reading a book and I helped him sound out the word "truck". Then all by himself he sounded out the words "bus" and "tractor"!

Today we were at Dollar Tree when Cole looked at the sign and said "Hey, there are two L's. What does that say? Doll, dolla, dollar. That says Dollar store!" He sounded out Dollar but not Tree...I guess he has a short attention span like his daddy :)

I can't believe my baby boy is big enough to read! It's only a few words so far, but it still amazes me. I'm so glad that I get to stay home with my kids and witness big moments like this!

Way to go my Super Cole!!

The Things That He Thinks

Cole is always saying things that catch me off guard. Sometimes they are random, sometimes they are sweet, sometimes they are deep for a 3 yr old, but they are always funny to me. I thought I would share a few:

When we were in Utah Grandma Coombs asked Cole if he did something and he said "Yes I didn't." It threw her off for a sec and then she started laughing hysterically. He also says "willn't" instead of "won't". If you think about it, willn't makes a lot more sense than won't.

Cole was eating a piece of licorice one day when I asked him to help me look for something. He replied "It's not in my licorice. I don't know where it is!" and he gave up looking.

Cole was playing with Daddy one day when he chomped at him and said "I got your attention" like it was something he could bite off.

Me: "Cole you have a big boogie in your nose"

Cole: "It's sticky, let's just leave it

Me: "Here's a tissue"

Cole: "I don't need it. I'm just dancing"

One day at preschool Cole's teacher asked him what animals he would have if he had a farm. Cole said he would have turtles. The other kids all said cows, horses, and dogs. Cole stuck with turtles. I have to admit I agree that a turtle farm would be more fun than horses and cows.

Cole was at a friends house one day when he picked up a book and said "I'm taking this home. You have too many toys!" This of course made his friend protest so Cole said "Since I can't take anything else can I have some candy?"

Ben and Cole were watching trains on Youtube one day. They saw a clip where a train crashed into a semi truck and totally smashed it and a nearby sign. Cole said "Oh no, the sign!" Who cares about the semi and the person driving, the sign is ruined!

Out of the blue Cole said "I really missed you mommy!" I asked "When buddy?" since I had been with him all day. He replied "At bedtime. While you were sleeping. I love you mommy." What a sweet boy!

Cole asked me one morning very seriously "Is this crazy?" Both his shirt and pants were on backwards and he wasn't sure if it was cool or not :)

Cole: "Bugs are stinky. We don't eat bugs, huh mommy."

Me: "Nope. We do not eat bugs. That would be yucky."

Cole: "Yeah. We just eat frogs."

"Thanks for making this yummy dinner Mommy. It's delicious." He says this often but hardly ever actually eats his dinner. Go figure. Maybe I should try feeding him something gross...like frogs :)

"Where's Daddy?" Ben has been going to school every day for the last year and a half and Cole asks me this almost every day.

Cole doesn't like to be told he's cute. "I'm not cute, I'm cool" he will say.

At bedtime one night Cole hid his face from Ben and said "No kisses Daddy!" He then looked at me and said "You can give me lots of kisses Mommy, you're not prickly like Daddy."

"After dinner I want to get my blood dropped" meaning he wanted to get his blood drawn. This kid has been through a lot if this is what he wants to do!

The other day Cole said "Thanks for cleaning the couch Mommy! I like you to clean all day every day." At least I'm good for something.

Cole: "I want to drive to Mini Apples (Minneapolis) to see the Legos at the Mall of the United States of the America (Mall of America).

Me: "Or, should we fly to Disneyland?" (Wishful thinking, but it was a fun thought)

Cole: "We can't fly, we don't have wings. Maybe I can call my friends the pteranadons."

If only.

The other day Cole said "What an imagination" to me. It's even more funny because I have no imagination compared to him. I don't know where he gets his ideas, but I'm glad that he does. We have a lot of fun around here!

Soakin' Up The Sun...In February?

The sun has returned to Iowa with a vengeance. Tuesday it was 50 degrees and most of our snow had melted. (Our giant snowman that was taller than Ben melted to a one foot stub!) The kids were thrilled to be able to play outside again without risk of hypothermia :)

Wednesday was even warmer, it got up to 60 degrees, so we decided it was a good day to go to the zoo. Cole was thrilled to be back and Ellie was enthralled with the animals. I can't wait until all of the animals are back outside. If this weather sticks it should be pretty soon!

Today we made it to a balmy 70 degrees! We didn't even need jackets. It was a beautiful spring day...in February? We'll take what we can get! I am loving the sunshine and the kids are loving being able to run around outside again.

We went to the playground for the first time in 3 months. Ellie was a muddy mess by the time we were through but it was worth it! I really hope this weather sticks!!

Love is in the air

Holidays are better with kids. Every time I have to explain a holiday to Cole it helps me to realize why we are really celebrating, and it helps me enjoy it so much more. I had never given a lot of thought to Valentines before. I realized this year that Valentine's Day is more than just celebrating love between Ben and I. It's a day that we can remember why we love everyone that we love, and to realize how lucky we are to have their love in return. The kids and I had a fun day celebrating our love for each other and our friends and family.

I left a Valentine for Ben, Cole and Ellie on the couch so they would see them first thing this morning. When Cole saw them he got really excited and said "Santa came last night!"

Cole had his preschool party last week. Ellie and I got to go as well. They played fun games, made crafts, and passed out Valentines.

Saturday we got a Valentine's package in the mail from Gwamma Coombs. We LOVE packages around here, so it was really exciting!

Cole LOVES his Love Bug! He carries it around everywhere he goes.

Elise loves her cute puppy. Hugs and Kisses!

We also got a few fun books, lots of candy, the cutest magnets, and a poem/rap written for each of us. Thanks Gwamma! It was such a fun surprise!!

Princess Elise

A blue-eyed little cherub with a twinkle in her eye

She will steal your heart, she doesn't even have to try

She's our chubby little princess...as dainty as can be

'till she clobbers brother Cole, thus commencing WW III

She really loves to play, a social butterfly at best

But when it's time to go back home she really doth protest

Riding in the car used to be a lot of fun

But halfway home to Utah now and Ellie's really done!

We really wish that we could be with Ellie every day

We love and miss our baby girl...what more can we say!

Cole the Brave

He's a man on a mission lemme make it clear

Gotta get to his train 'cause he's an en-gin-eer!

He's tough as nails when he gets a shot

When you ask "Did it hurt?" he says "Not a lot"

He sings lots of songs and he knows 'em by heart

He can count and say his alphabet, now ain't that smart?

He loves his mommy and daddy, thinks it's sweet

When he gives the the right answer..."that's pretty neat"

We talk to Cole on the Skype computer

And we love our boy because he couldn't be cuter!

Ode to Benny

Where is Benny-Ben Jammin'? Is he crammin'

Fo da test...wid da rest...of da crazy foos?

He spends all night, 'till da early morning light

So he can pass da class in da medico skoo.

Don't worry, he's still got a funny bone

'Cause he finds com-a-dees on his little i-phone

If you cut yo-sef, he can put choo in stitches

Make his momma laugh 'till she wets her britches!

We miss ole' Ben when he's not around but

Won't it be coo when he's a docta clown!

He'll be flashin cash, and livin' real phat

And den you'll hear him say, "How neat is dat?!!"

Queen Tearsa

Sometimes she may thing about her former life of ease

Examining for cavities and periodontal disease

Days go by and oh, she dreams of sleeping one more hour

One minute undisturbed as she takes her morning shower.

She's a saint...motherhood is not for the faint-hearted

Besides, these kids are 1 and 3! She's just gettin' started!

The problem is, Ben's rarely home, and when he is he's got

His face in his computer, so when he is, he's not!

So bravely Tearsa presses on, for soon will come the day

When she and Ben are millionaires, with lots of loans to pay!

A few of our friends put together a Valentine's Party this afternoon. We had lots of fun, festive and yummy food! Followed by lots of games and running around. It was a great way to spend our day with our friends we love!

When we got home from our party we got a big surprise...Ben came home early from school! He spent the rest of the day with us, even though he has a test tomorrow morning. As usual, my camera battery died at an inconvenient time, so I don't have any pictures for the rest of the day. I still have to write about it though because it was a special day. We swapped presents and then played all afternoon. Ben even helped Cole and El make me an adorable card with lift up flaps and a poem :) while I made a special Valentine's dinner: Ben requested meat loaf and I made it into a heart, Cole requested noodles so I colored them pink, and of course we had raspberries, which are everyone's favorite. It was a unique and fun dinner. Afterward, for FHE, we made heart shaped sugar cookies and had a lesson on love.

Here is the poem that Ben and the kids wrote for me :)

(He must get his poem writing abilities from his mom)

Mommy, moommy, can't you see?

You're the best mom that there could be!

You take us to the mall, you take us to the school,

You hold us when we fall, and you think we're really cool!

We love taking drives with you in the van.

And we love to bug you when you're on the can.

We love dinner time, even though we don't eat,

And we love shopping with you cause you buy us a treat!

We give you lots of kisses and lots of hugs too,

Cause you're the best mommy and WE LOVE YOU!!!

There were pictures under the flaps on the front and 4 flaps inside that had

1. Kiss from Daddy

2. Kiss from Cole

3. Kiss from Ellie

4. Told you so!

And then they all kissed me at once! It was the best card I have ever received!!

We had a really special day today. I am so glad that I was able to spend it with the people I love the most in the whole world: Ben, Cole, and Elise!