Erica has fun taking my junk!!

By Cindy 

Erica came and got my old stereo system tonight and she was excited like it was Christmas. Glad to have someone want it.

We were in the garage when I spotted some inline skates....she was the perfect person for those as well!!

It is going to be great having her in the family!!

Elsy's First Movie

Lately, I've seen a lot of posts from my friends on facebook talking about going to see the kids movie "Home". I felt like Elsy would enjoy the experience of her first movie so I invited both set of granparents and we all went and saw it this afternoon!

Elsy did GREAT! She might have eaten popcorn the WHOLE time, but she did great!!

Ordering popcorn! 

Notice her cup is already empty! I think I filled it up about 8 times. I'm not even kidding!

Also, notice the booster. I didn't really even know these were around for movies!

For whatever reason, she wanted to climb the steps after the movie!

A lot of her favorite people, asking her about the movie and talking about how impressed they were with how well she did. 

She really did do good. She got scared during the previews but I kept telling her it was like a commercial and would end soon. And then she threw her hand up when one of the characters got smooshed! At one point in time, she said "This is a fun show". What a fun first experience!

Basement Progress

Our basement is coming along. This is the end of the second week that michael's been helping us. We are so close to carpet we can taste it!

Cole was helping Marc on the back stairs yesterday. 

Oh, Cole

Some people like some "reading material" while they go to the bathroom. Cole asked for a book while he was getting his diaper changed...

Big Helper

Cole was helping Marc work on the stairs going down into the basement. He was responsible for handing Marc the screws. He took his job very seriously...

...until his got distracted by the dog. 

The stairs are completed and ready for carpet. They look great!

Donut Shop

Cole had his first donut shop experience this week. We were down in Liberal getting his ears rechecked. (He still has fulid behind one of them...ugh.) While we waited for our prescription to be filled, we stopped at Daylight Donuts. He loved it!

He picked out a donut with sprinkles. 

Mama loved it too!

Cole's First Haircut

Last Friday Cole had his first haircut. One of our friends who used to own the sublette salon offered to do it at her house. She did such a great job - fast, gentle, and thorough. Cole did great too. No crying or fussing and he stayed pretty still until the end. Marc and Uncle Mike were in attendance as his cheering section. 

Before: (he got to sit on my lap during the process)

After:

She mainly just trimmed up around his ears and in the back - took some of his curls off. You can still see his hair is somewhat wavy.

You can ask Marc for the video, if you think of it sometime. (I still can't figure out how to put videos on this thing.)

He looks a lot more grown up to me. It's cute!

It was a great first experience. 

Who is that kid?

Who's the kid wearing snow boots and a stocking cap (by his own choosing, I might add) when it's 70 degrees out and gorgeous?

Yep, that's my son and I'm proud of it! 

Also note: we did not know any of these kids at the park, but that didn't stop Cole from going right on up to them - proudly in his attire. #noshame #noinhibition

Basement Progress

Michael has been working in our basement some this week with Marc. They are working on the trim for the windows and doors and the stairs and finishing up some other things for the stairs. The goal: get completely ready for carpet!

Of course, Cole loves Uncle Mike and his dogs, Rosco and Blue, and wants to be in on the action. We let him watch a little and then get him out of the way. Don't want to hold up progress!

A Tall Tower

This morning I could hear Marc and Cole making some commotion in the bathroom. I wondered what they were doing. A little while later, they called me in to show me this!

A tall tower of toilet paper on the storage rack! 

Marc said he had to lift Cole up to put the top roll on. Ha! This has lasted, in this same place, all day long.

I think the boys were pretty proud of their accomplishment. 

Small Town UPS Man

Have I told you before that the UPS man, Randy, brings General doggy treats every time he comes? He does. It's really nice. 

Today we came home to a package (of dog food) on our porch, and look what was sticking out of the box!

A dog treat!! Thanks, Randy!

I never thought I would know my UPS man's name. Do you?

Cole-In-The-Box

Marc made Cole a cool fort (not a house, like I kept wanting to call it) out of a box the other day, and Cole has been LOVING playing in it!

The evolution of the fort:

Cole was a little hesitant to go inside until Marc suggested I get him a flashlight. Then he was all about it!

Marc cut notches in the door to be used as handles to make it easier to close the door from the inside. 

I asked Marc if he wanted to make the door a little taller to make it easier to get in and out. He informed me that a tunnel door is way better and that if I was a boy I'd understand. Ha!

It soon became apparent that we needed a ceiling "look out". 

"Pop goes the weasel"

It has since been decorated with stickers, manly super hero stickers. 

What a fun creation! (Now, how long do you keep these things before you throw them away?!!!)

Wonderscope with Elsy

From Georgann -

A few weeks ago Julie asked me to watch Elsy today.  I then asked Dave to take the day off so we could plan to do something fun with Elsy.  Dave sent out an email to the "girls" at work, aka those with young children.  They gave us some great ideas:  Johnson County Museum, Deanna Rose Farmstead, Crown Center's exhibit on fairy tales,SeaLife aquarium, Kaleidoscope, Hallmark visitor center, Crayola Cafe, and. . . Wonderscope!  We chose Wonderscope.  We will definitely take Cole here the next time he's in town!!

Here's a photo journey through our morning.

It started with pancakes.

Elsy read books on the way to Wonderscope 

At the entrance of Wonderscope in Shawnee, KS

While Grandpa was paying, Elsy found some cool mirrors on the wall.

There was a story hour soon after we arrived in the Artworks room.  We got to the room a few minutes early, so Elsy donned an apron and started creating her masterpieces. She chose to continue painting while the lady read "Sneetches" by Dr. Suess.  Periodically she stopped to look at the book being read.

Also in Artworks was a section covered with blackboard paint.  Elsy had fun chalking it up. Erasing it was just as enjoyable.

Lots of fun "distractions" like this dollhouse were in the hallway.

This is in the "2 yrs and Under" room.  Elsy loved climbing in the houses, up the stairs and playing on the soft structures. In this picture her nose is pressed against the window.

The H2Oh Room - all the kids loved this room - a chance to play with water!  The water was COLD!  No heated tubs there.  

This was in the Lego Section.

Tinker toy shaped soft and moveable pieces.

Baby nursery room.  Kids could put on a doctor jacket or scrubs and pretend they are examining babies.  Elsy chose to be a "mother". She clothed her baby, fed her and put her to bed, even sang her the Bible song.

I got to pretend I was checking Elsy's ears.  Of course, I found a bird. Then she wanted me to pull it out.  She was so intense!

After over two hours there, Grandpa and Grandma were ready to leave, but Elsy wasn't so sure.  The last room she played in was the Farm to Market room.  Fun times! But we didn't take any pictures there.

Trains deliver the food to your tables, plus there was a train that constantly circles the center of the room.  As it came around again, Elsy was saying to us "Look!"

Every child got a Fritz engineer hat.  Elsy didn't want to were it but Grandpa would.