Cole 8 months

Baby ColeBear is 8 months old!

He still hates baby food, but I read that if I put some on his tray and let him play with it, he'll be more likely to try it after he's touched it with his hands. He even tastes it. He can recognize his bottle and will look at me and his bottle back and forth like he's not sure which one to choose. So far, he's mastered crawling and is super speedy. He loves being outside and is fascinated with rain. Bath time is more fun. He tries to grab the water and splashes with his hands and feet. No teeth yet, still, but he likes to bite. His hair is also growing thicker, but it's still hard to tell what color it'll be. Sometimes it looks dark like Leah's, other times it looks red or blonde. Some favorite things: playing peek-a-boo, being tickled, and tossed in the air.

Camp!

My big kids went to camp for the first time over the weekend. They had a blast. Carlton went along as a counselor so they were more comfortable trying new things. They kayaked, rode a zipline and a horse, practiced archery, went swimming, and even hiked. They said the worst part was all the walking they had to do. They were in separate groups so they didn't see each other much, but I'm proud of them going off and doing new things by themselves. I missed them! And with the event of yesterday, I realize they truly are the most helpful kids and I need to make sure they know how much I appreciate them.

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Just two

Jac and Leah are off to camp for the weekend, so it's just my boys and me. I dropped the big kids off Thursday morning and took the boys to walk around at the outlets. I bought some shower gels and got Elias a cookie for potty training so well. He's been wearing underwear all week. However, we did have one accident at the most inconvenient time in the middle of Hobby Lobby... More on that in a sec. Zac and I took the boys to the playground when he got off work and made sure they were super sleepy before heading home. Elias skinned his knee AGAIN, because he just skinned them Wednesday at church. All the crying. I cleaned them up with some water, which was just so evil of me in his eyes, but after a few minutes of swinging, he was back running around again.

So, I took the boys out so we could be out of the house for a bit. Elias went to the toilet and I packed him some extra underwear just in case. I was in the drive-thru line at Starbucks when Elias said he had to pee. I picked up my tea and decided to head to Hobby Lobby. They have the cleanest public bathrooms and all the autumn stuff, so why not? Their shopping carts are super small, so the car seat doesn't fit. I put Cole in the harness and decided to set Elias in the cart. We went to the bathrooms, so I took Cole out of the harness and let him sit in the cart seat while I got Elias finished up. He only pooped, so I made a mental note to keep asking about pee. We went back to the fall stuff and I put a few things in the cart that were marked down. Cole started trying to pry my shirt off, so I put him back in the harness and nursed him a bit while I continued browsing. After a few minutes, Elias says quietly, "I have an accident." I look at him, his shorts don't look wet, but when I moved the cart, there was a puddle on the floor. The cashiers were on the other side of the aisle and at that moment, two ladies came down the aisle. I let them know about the floor and I hurried to get paper towels and a plastic bag from the cashier station and let them know about the mess. I planned to mop it up with paper towels and disinfect the floor, but when I went to get started, the ladies offered to help me out. They were so kind. So, a cashier came over and put up a wet floor sign, I told them thanks and sorry and hurried back to the bathroom to get Elias changed. Then I felt something warm on my shirt and pants. Since there were items in the cart, I couldn't bring it in the bathroom this time, so I took Cole back out of the harness and onto the changing table, but the strap was broken so it wasn't the safest. I laid him on there and kept one hand on him while trying to carefully get Elias' underwear and shorts off without hurting his knees. I wiped him off with one hand and put him in dry underwear and luckily Cole managed to pee outside his clothes, so his shorts were dry. I put them on Elias. Elias can wear 6 month shorts, apparently. Since Cole was dry, I changed his diaper, wiped my own shirt and pants off and put him BACK INTO THE HARNESS. I wiped out the cart with disinfectant wipes and collected all the items ($20 worth because I bought them anyway) and we decided to come home. I didn't cry, though! And Hobby Lobby offered me words of encouragement at the registers.

CSpire

My cousin, Anna, came to C-Spire today, as well as Mike and Ashley with their kids. Mike and Ashley didn't stay long, but plan to come next month and bring their computers. Zac and I joined Anna for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign (our first time playing) and it was really fun. I spent some time looking at dice online as well as customizing a figure to order eventually that I can paint. Much nerdiness. The big kids signed up for the Smash Bros. tournament and Mario Maker tournament, but neither won. Leah was more upset about it than Jac, but she'll live. They had fun regardless.

 

 

 

Dentist & Playground

Last week the kiddos had their dental appointments and all were cavity-free except Jac, who needs a small filling next week on just one tooth. But, he's been brushing better.

A few weeks back, I got a temporary crown on one of my molars and yesterday went to get the permanent one on. All the kids got some stickers for being good and helping with the baby. I took them to the playground for a bit, but it was so hot that they wanted to leave after 20 minutes. We went to McDonald's for Happy Meals and I feel slightly disappointed that the Toy Story toys have been replaced with The Lion King. I almost had the camper finished. Oh well. 

Toy Story 4

We rarely go to the movie theater. It costs about half a week's worth of groceries these days, which I find silly, so we wait for it to come to DVD or borrow it from someone. The last movie we went to see was Kubo back in 2016. For Christmas, we are usually gifted Fandango gift cards, so we decided to take the kids to see Toy Story 4. It was a super cute movie and a nice ending to the story. Cole was the quietest of the four, Elias being the loudest with his questions and his opinions, but he enjoyed it. Toy Story has been a favorite since I was obsessed with being a Spice Girl. It's kinda cool that all four have been able to see at least one of the sequels in the theater.

Balloon Fest

Thursday, we were going to try to attend the balloon glow, but our timing was off. Luckily, they had an ongoing event, so we went Saturday after the library. My poor snowflakes were SOOOO BOOOOORED. I guess I'm a terrible mom, ha. They had fun, even though Elias pinched his finger (see pic below for which finger). We weren't planning to even see fireworks this year, but realized this was Cole's first experience with them, so we had to... even though he won't remember it. I had some blankets in the van, so we laid them out and enjoyed being outside. It wasn't too hot once the sun went down and the fireworks were so pretty.

Cole & Randoms

VBS proved to be a distracting event so I forgot about Cole's 6-month checkup, as well as dental appointments for the other three. Luckily, rescheduling was simple. Cole is growing on target and is up to date on his vaccinations. Dr. Y said to keep offering the baby food and eventually he'll get the hang of it. I bought some teething biscuits, which he seemed to like until he choked on it. The trust is gone. He started crawling! I'm in the mommy limbo of please-time-slow-down and omg-if-he-could-talk-I'd-know-what-to-do. After Cole's appointment, I brought the kids to the playground for a bit. Leah's been feeling yucky lately, which may be a cold or allergies. She never had fever and only had a sore throat for a day. We visited a new church, so it's likely she caught something there unless there is just too much pollen flying around, but the rest of us feel fine. She mainly has a cough. However, she felt well enough to play on the playground, so I don't know.

I started Christmas shopping! It's early, but at the rate my life is going, tomorrow will be New Year's, so I gotta get started. LUCKILY the kids really don't want much this year, so I'm going to have fun buying stuff. And I just realized we have maybe a month left before we start the new school year. OMG where is the time going??? Amazon is becoming my new BFF.