Bedtime Already :(

Cody is such a happy boy, but has started to despise going to bed...He just wants to keep playing! He does, however, like the process of getting ready for bed, so I thought I would share our routine with you. It starts in the bathtub, Cody really loves to pour water from one cup to another and set up then knock his ducks and toys off the edge.

After about a half hour or forty-five minutes and some very wrinkled fingers and toes, I help Cody put his toys away and we get out of the tub. The next step is to brush teeth. Cody loves this step, I think more for the way the toothpaste tastes than the actual brushing, but that is ok.

After we brush our teeth, we go downstairs and watch one of our now numerous truck videos and give Dad a hug and kiss goodnight, then it is time to read a couple books and go to sleep.

We are trying to get Cody ready for his transition to the big boy bed...so we read his stories in the toddler bed, then get in the crib for sleeping.
Since we have a video monitor, I can see Cody's personal bedtime routine which includes reading stories to his monkey and saying goodnight to the trucks, tractors, and walls in his room. He really is tooooo cute!

Summer of Fun

As we prepare for baby Craig, I am making sure to give Cody lots and lots of love. He loves to be outside, but with temperatures in the 90's it has been hard. We wait for shade in the back yard and play in turtle sandbox that Coco brought down for us. I have taken nesting to a whole new level...Jason has been busy the last 4 or 5 weeks completing projects for me. He re-did the walkway in the front, installed a new kitchen sink, put in french doors where the sliding glass door was, and perhaps the biggest project, he installed wood floors in the living and dining room. It was cute to see Cody working with Dad. He would take his small tape measure over and try to trade it for Dad's. He had to try on the knee pads,
and of course had to take a break with Dad.

I can say that I think we are ready for the baby to arrive, but I am still anxious to have two small children in the house. I am also preparing to go back to work. After my experience with Cody, I am trying to make sure that all the details are worked out before the baby comes. My application to go Full-time to Part-time has been approved and I now just need to go in and sign the paperwork. Jason and I are staying close to home, because it really could be any day now. My sister Leah is excited to come visit and possibly see the baby be born...She has asked me if I could plan to have the baby in 2 1/2 weeks. I told her I would put my order in, but that God was in control of that. It would be nice to have the baby early, since my family will be here for Tom and Joanna's wedding, but as my mom says, you shouldn't plan on an early baby.

Beating the Heat

We are starting to feel the heat of the summer during the day...mid 80's the last 2 days has kept us from playing at the park. The slides, stairs and swings are all HOT!!! It is amazing how quickly kids learn the meaning of words and I love it when Cody uses new words in the right context! Without time at the park we have been playing in the yard, riding bikes, drawing with chalk, blowing bubbles and eating ice pops.
Cody loves to ride his bike up and down the sidewalk, taking the occasional break to throw a rock back into the yard or look at the trees. He is just too darn cute!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Cody's little sister...Just 7 weeks til the due date. I have almost finished painting in Cody's room for the new John Deere theme. Here are some pics for you to look at.

The Countdown Has Really Begun

I was looking at the calendar today, and realized that I have only 8 weeks left until my due date. This is both exciting and a bit overwhelming. I have so much that I want to do in preparation for Alyssa's arrival. I remember this time in my pregnancy with Cody, it is a much different experience this time. With Cody, I had nothing to do once I went on maternity leave from work except prepare for him. I could paint at my leisure, nap everyday, and run as many errands as necessary. This time around, I spend my days at the park or riding bikes with Cody and have to complete my housework and preparations during Cody's nap. I have purchased paint for both Cody's new "big boy" room and Alyssa's nursery. Cody's rug is almost half way done, and I figure if I am diligent I can have it finished in a couple weeks. I have also made some necessary purchases from my favorite website, craigslist, a double stroller in almost mint condition for $80 and a toddler bed for $30! What a great way to save money. As soon as I have something complete I will post pics so you can see the new rooms. I have found someone to watch Cody and Alyssa when I return to work. Her name is Cookie and she lives 2 minutes from my house. She has 2 beautiful daughters, 16mo and 30mo old. She has also turned my on to a mom's group in the area, so I can meet other working moms in the area. We play at the park at least once a week and have had a mom's night out! Pray that I will be able to work out all the details and feel comfortable with this arrangement in the next couple of weeks.

Warmer days!

As the days get warmer I am enjoying watching Cody play outside. He loves to run around in the front yard, riding his new bike...$2 at a garage sale, and drawing with sidewalk chalk. It brings me back to my childhood when my mom had a job at the chalk factory, and we had every kind of chalk imaginable...drawing stores, houses and playing with the neighborhood kids all day long.

Jamboree '08

Who ever thought you could have so much fun with family!!! We were blessed with the most amazing destination for our reunion this year...a chateau near Jamestown, with no near neighbors and more than enough space for the 9 of us.
The Hot tub was nice for some evening relaxation, and fun for the boys to play in. The mountain setting was great for our growing and ever curious little boys, and it was fun to watch them play together.
Manny and Monique, my dad's sock monkey's, provided much entertainment for Noah and Cody. They have their own suitcase with clothes for every occasion, a travel journal, favorite books and a photo of their family so they don't get lonely while they are away...They went for a visit to Chicago with Noah and the Young's after the Jamboree.
It was good to spend time with family and can't wait for Jamboree '09.

New Plans For The Nursery

After careful consideration and discussion, we have decided to do Alyssa's nursery in a pastel pink, green and yellow theme. I am researching bedding and blankets right now, and preparing to buy paint. If you find something in these colors let me know, I will consider it. Here are some of my finds. Tadpoles Pink Toile 4 Piece Infant Bedding Set - Sleeping Partners - Babies "R" Us

MiGi "Sweet" 4-Piece Crib Bedding Set - MiGi - Babies "R" Us

Vintage Floral 3 Piece Crib Bedding Set - My Baby Sam - Babies "R" Us

Hope you like what you see, can't wait to show paint chips at the long awaited Jamboree '08.

Family

It is so weird to me that you can grow up with someone your entire life and still not really know them. I have read both my brother and sister's stories on their blogs and find that there are so many things they have experienced that I knew nothing about. It is strange to think of Andrew as a grown man, with so much life experience. I just think of him as a little boy squeezing the glow worm so hard and still not getting any glow! And to think of my sister with indecision and questions of what life will bring doesn't fit. What a great mother she is! I just wish they lived closer so we could share our adult lives as much as we shared our childhood.

Happy Birthday Adam!

After our short trip to NC we had enough time to recover and it was down to NM to visit with Jason's side of the family and celebrate Adam's birthday.
It has been fun to see Cody play with his cousin Cole and open up to Grammy and Papa. Since we don't see them much it took a couple days to feel at home. Baby Cade is doing great and is one of the chubbiest babies I have seen in a while. It makes me so excited for baby Alyssa to come into the world, but sort of nervous too, it will be a lot of work to take care of two little ones.
There were some early festivities for the Easter holiday, so we went to town for the easter egg hunt and face painting...Cody thought the basket looked better as a hat!

The rehearsal

Well, it was an interesting trip to the "New South"...Cody and I spent 4 days in NC with cousin Noah, Aunt Lele, Uncle Andy and Mimi. While somewhat exhausting, it was very much fun. We visited some of the attractions, most of them geared toward our little ones.

My favorite was the discovery zone...Here are a few pictures to show you how much fun we had. I learned something about myself, I need to let go a little more and let Cody discover on his own. He loves to play with other children, and he will check in when he needs me. He was so cute playing in the water, climbing on the ropes and even going down the slide. He is just growing up too fast!
I can tell that I am pregnant though, because I felt like crying every night because I missed my Hubby! The emotions ran high, but I reminded everyone to remain calm and remember that there were 2 pregnant women here!!! Mimi got Alyssa a darling white top and Aunt Lele got her a pair of ballet slippers that I am sure will get lots of use when the little girl finally arrives. I feel like it was a good rehearsal for the upcoming jamboree. Hopefully we got all the tears out and we can have a tear free jamboree in CO in April. See you all soon.