Weekend - from mid-October

I found this draft of a post dated 10-18-09. I guess things got a little hectic and I forgot about it.

"Cole to Lowe's with oversized sandals that look like mine and his hardhat that says Boss on the front, on backwards

hanging pictures and things

yardwork

campus - 1 x fountain, 3 x crash"

The trip to Lowe's was a blast. I love that he has no idea that he is wearing a goofy outfit and that he just enjoys himself. Sometimes it is really tough to keep a straight face when people look at me. But half the fun is acting like there is nothing out of the ordinary. Like when I went to Target with a girlfriend and he little brother years ago and he was wearing an actual army helmet around inside the store.

The other fun item of note here is the campus line. We took the boys to ASU campus to run around after sunday dinner. It is free of cars, and for the most part on a sunday night, people. Cole fell into the fountain in front of the college of business about 4 minutes after we got there. Mindy gave him her socks and we wrung out his shorts. He never did put his shirt back on. He also turfed it three times.

Time with the boys

I've had a lot more time to spend with the boys lately - despite my attempts to hang on to some sort of routine involving going to campus for a large part of each day. I'm very much a person of routine. I feel a bit lost without one.

We're headed into the winter break, but since the MBAs are on a trimester system, that just means we have mid-terms and come back in a month for the last five weeks of classes and then have finals. 11 weeks after that we have our third set of finals for the year and we're done for the summer.

I've been working on cover letters and resumés (so copying in the "e" with the accent from word doesn't work very well size-wise) for internships next summer. This takes a lot of time when you're not too sure about what to do.

Cole is now moving toward being potty-trained. He is obsessed with adults using the bathroom and frequently runs through a list of people to confirm their bathroom-using status. He recognizes the requirements for him to get a "big boy bike" because he talks about them constantly. Then he takes off everything but his diaper and gets to work. That big-boy bike ($30 at wally world) now sits in its box in the garage and we go out and look at the box often and discuss the agreement. He's not bothered by it remaining in the box for now.

He means well and he tries. I've started having conversations with him. Tonight I asked him what scares him. He said that the dark scares him. I'm not sure about this because he seems quite comfortable in the dark, but it was interesting.

I'm losing my train of thought, but there is much to write about Parker. I really need to find my old voice recorder and just carry it with me recording my thoughts and commentary on the funny things they do and say each day.

Today I built Cole a dirtbox. This is like a sandbox, but free and without the sand. I simply got out the rake and cleared the gravel from a 4x4 area in the backyard. Cole thinks it is great and it will get him away from the plants.

What Cole eats for breakfast

Yes, your eyes are working. Cole is eating toast with jam dipped in Gulden's spicy mustard. This morning was the third time he has requested this. And since Parker wants to be like his big brother, he too is eating this for breakfast.

Just a Funny Little Story about Parker!

This afternoon I informed Parker that it was about time for his nap. (A little background: a few days ago we took the front rail off Parker's crib so that he could start to get the feel for a big boy bed. He's had a lot of fun climbing in and out of it and has done pretty well with going to sleep in it - except for nap times.) This afternoon I was already starting to dread fighting Parker to stay in his bed for nap time. I informed Parker that it was just about time for his nap and that he would need to start wrapping up playing with trains. Parker decided that he had other plans!

Unbeknown to me, Parker went into his room, gathered up his blanket and stuffed animals and headed to the bottom bunk in Cole's room. (Cole starting sleeping on his top bunk about 2 months ago). While I was straightening up the toys in the playroom, Cole and Parker came and got me to show me the new arrangements. Parker, in his limited vocab, announced that he was now going to sleep in Cole's room! (I am quickly learning that as parents we only think we are in charge!)

Cole climbed up on the top bunk while Parker was on the bottom, they both giggled and giggled about being on the bunk beds together. Parker kept saying, "Cole on top". I decided that I would give Parker a chance and see if he would nap on the bottom bunk, I must admit I had little hope - 10 minutes later he was dreaming away! Now Andrew and I have to decide if we are really ready to have both the boys in the same room - we will see how the next few days go! . . . Andrew also suggested that we rent out Parker's room!

Parker is such the little crack up! He wants very much to be a big boy and is more insistent upon making changes then even Cole (another example was when Parker decided that he was done with his high chair and wanted to sit at the big table). Yesterday, when I picked Parker up from junior nursery, the leaders let me know that Parker is quite the class clown . . . I told them that we were already very much aware of this!

I love my little guys so much!

Halloween at the Butler's

Here are some of the pictures from Halloween night.

Andrew and Cole carved the pumpkin!

The boys with their pumpkin! (We gave Cole Andrew's old camera. Cole loves to take pictures, especially when our camera comes out. I will have to post some of his pictures later - some of them are actually pretty cool!)

Cole and his friend Shreeya out trick or treating! Our neighbors are from India. They weren't going to go trick or treating until we knocked on their door. It was a lot of fun going out with them. When we went to cross one of the streets I told Cole that he needed to take someone's hand - the smart boy chose Shreeya's! They kept holding hands for the rest of the trick or treating festivities.

Parker with Minu and her mother. (Minu is Shreeya's mother) Minu kept asking me about Halloween and the history of it. She mentioned that in India they have something similar.

Cute Cole and Shreeya again!

Our Adventures at Trunk or Treat!

We had never been to a Trunk or Treat before, so this is what we came up with for our car . . . we ended up winning second place, what ever that means. The point that matters is that we had a really great time with our friends/ward. Cole and Parker quickly caught on to the whole idea, except that Cole learned that if he just stood in front of someone and kept tugging at their leg, they would continue to give you candy and you would not have to walk to other cars! Smart kid!

Our car!

The kids were all a little anxious to get going with the candy gathering. They all ended up chasing each other around in the park area while the adults ate soup and chili. If you look closely for the kid in the skunk costume (with the heart on the bum), that would be Cole. At one point the sprinklers came on and all the kids ran for the parking lot . . . except for Cole! He was in the middle of the field running from sprinkler to sprinkler, trying to step on them. After the ward had a good laugh, Andrew had to be the hero and go drag Cole off the field. Being wet and in costume did not phase Cole in the least! (not surprised!)

Momma with her Parker Bear (who's dressed as a monkey)

Momma with her Skunk!

Cole's Party with Friends!

Because Cole was so excited about his birthday, I decided last minute to have a little party with his playgroup friends. We fished in a fishing pond, did a bean bag toss, threw balls in buckets, and decorated car shaped cup cakes. It was fun seeing my boys having such a great time! Here are a few photos from the party:

Six cute little boys!

Opening presents from friends - I love all the action happening in this picture!

Andrew helped me decorate for Cole's official birthday. We thought that Cole would really be excited when he woke up and found the kitchen all done up for him - and he was! (if you can't tell, this is an after the party shot!)

Cole's 3rd Birthday!!!

I can not believe that three years have already gone by! This was a really fun birthday with Cole because this was the first year he caught on to his birthday coming (not that I would have expected him to catch on any earlier!). Any time a package would come in the month of October Cole would ask if it was for his birthday. He was pretty disappointed, mind you, when the packages were for daddy's work or were skirts for mommy from grandma. When the packages from both grandparents did arrive, he was supper excited!

We decided that since Andrew had work and class all day on Cole's birthday, we would have a little family party for him the night before. Cole chose brownies for his cake with peanut butter chips and pecans. It was a fun night!

Our BIG three year old!

Parker was excited to be partying!

Deanna (Grandma Butler) made this very cute card for Cole! (Andrew makes a great Vanna)

Cole opening his present from Grandpa and Grandma Brimley (Gary and LeAnn)! (This was the first toy that Cole has actually asked for, so it was fun to see the surprise when he actually received it!)

Grandpa and Grandma Butler (Mark and Deanna) sent these awesome wooden subway trains. Cole was very excited about them. The next day Cole was looking for them and found that his father put them up so that they could be admired on the fireplace mantle and not played with. When I mentioned this to Deanna, she said that she would be happy to send Andrew his own trains so that Cole could play with his set!

Cole was with me at the store when I purchased his fire engine. For a couple of days he kept asking if he could play with it (there were tears, I will admit!). We kept telling Cole that he would get it for his birthday - he was soooo excited when he finally got it. He played and played with it that night. It was getting late but we let Cole enjoy the moment of his new toy. At one point, things all of a sudden got very quiet. (cont. to picture below)

I went into the room to see what had happened to Cole and this is what I found . . . out cold!

Parker . . . what more need be said!

(Parker actually strung all these beads on his own - I only helped to tie them up into a necklace.)

Who's your hero?

The other day Cole found Andrew's old dirt motorcyle helmet in the garage. The next thing I knew he had also found some gloves and grabbed his motorcycle. Hmmmm, who do you think he is trying to be like?!

Can You Find Jack?

I walked into our bedroom to fold the laundry and this is what I found! . . . Comfy Jack?!

Cole and his Beans

I've tried to explain to a couple of people Cole and his beans - so I thought that this picture would serve the best in explaining.


Cole fell in love with playing in beans when, for his language development, the counselor had him search for animals in beans. We bought Cole his own beans and little animals so that we could continue to work with Cole on our own. Little did we know how the beans would become one of his favorite toys!

At first the beans were simply in a shoe box sized plastic container, but, inevitably since we are talking about a boy, the beans got scattered all over the floor. We then let Cole play with his beans on a plastic drop cloth. He then moved from playing with the animals and began bringing in his trucks to haul the beans around - this than created a larger scattering of the beans. So, the next idea was to use a little $5.00 pool that I bought for the kids while in Utah last summer. This has been perfect! (Sorry cousins in Utah that we had grandma and grandpa bring it to Arizona, we heard how much fun everyone was having with it at the Fourth of July and 24th of July get togethers . . . if it makes any one feel any better, their is a small hole in it!)

Cole, and now Parker, ask at least once a week to play in the beans (or as Cole calls them "my beans). They have all kinds of fun plowing, hauling, dumping, and generally pushing the beans around. Many times Andrew even gets sucked into the fun and tries to get the boys to build roads! We still get beans on the floor, but they are an easy clean up with a broom. We also joke about this being our food storage if needed! I guess that for now this beats sand!

(Disclaimer: if any of this sounds spacey, I am starting down with a second cold . . . I just had one last week!!! This is ridiculous!)

Boys at the Park with Grandpa & Grandma Brimley

My parents came to visit a few weeks ago. We did a lot of fun things - one of them was going to the park one evening. The "Tumbleweed" park is gigantic and full of fun things for he kids to do. This evening in particular was one of the first cool ones (90 degrees) and nobody was at the park, so the boys had the run of it. Thanks for the cute pictures, dad!

I love the pure enjoyment on Parker's face in the slide picture! I just love my cute boys!

Parker's Post

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Love Parker!

What People Do While Driving

Today, while out with the boys, we were driving down the street when something metal in the car in front of us caught my eye - the guy in front of us was playing a trumpet while driving his Mercedes Benz!!! I kept looking to make sure that I was not imagining things - nope, it was a trumpet all right. We past by the guy when he turned left and there was the gleaming instrument in his hands! This was the all time oddest thing I have ever seen someone do while driving . . . maybe he is quite the multi-tasker?!

Later I was telling my mom about what we had seen and she starting telling me of an odd thing she saw last week while driving - she saw a guy trying to smoke, drive, and talk on his cell phone all at the same time. She said that it was interesting watching him try to balance everything when he needed to drop ash from his cigarette out the window. Wow, what has happened in this world to people driving and only driving - is there some dangerous expectation that we should all be trying to accomplish two plus things at once while attempting to safely arrive at a destination?!

Sunday we went to ASU campus to let the boys run around (you'll hear more about the experience later) - when Andrew and I were driving home we both mentioned how amazed we were to see students riding their bikes and trying to either talk on their cell phones or, heaven help them, text! What has changed in society!?

So, I ask each of you - what is the oddest thing you have seen someone trying to do while driving, riding a bike, etc? I am sure each of you have some interesting things to add.

Weekend - from mid-October

I found this draft of a post dated 10-18-09. I guess things got a little hectic.

"Cole to Lowe's with oversized sandals that look like mine and his hardhat that says Boss on the front, on backwards

hanging pictures and things

yardwork

campus - 1 x fountain, 3 x crash"

The trip to Lowe's was a blast. I love that he has no idea that he is wearing a goofy outfit and that he just enjoys himself. Sometimes it is really tough to keep a straight face when people look at me. But half the fun is acting like there is nothing out of the ordinary. Like when I went to Target with a girlfriend and he little brother years ago and he was wearing an actual army helmet around inside the store.

The other fun item of note here is the campus line. We took the boys to ASU campus to run around after sunday dinner. It is free of cars, and for the most part on a sunday night, people. Cole fell into the fountain in front of the college of business about 4 minutes after we got there. Mindy gave him her socks and we wrung out his shorts. He never did put his shirt back on.

Mesa Temple Painting

Because I just wrote about cleaning the Mesa temple, I wanted to post this new temple painting that my brother just finished!

For those of you who don't know, my brother is an amazingly talented painter (I'm not opposed to bragging!). Jeff, my brother, recently started painting the LDS temples. He has done quite a few. Tomorrow I actually get to see the original of the Mesa temple!!! (There is nothing quite like the originals!) Jeff has several of his paintings here in the Phoenix area at a Scottsdale art gallery. Tomorrow, 4 temple paintings are being dropped off at our home so that I can deliver them to the art gallery! I am very proud of my brother - he has taken a long road to get where he is at!

Enjoy the amazing painting of the Mesa Temple!

Here are the other three paintings that Jeff just finished: (Los Angeles, Idaho Falls, & Washington DC):

Ode to Sticky Floors

An original by Mindy Sue Butler


Sticky floors, sticky floors,
Will you ever go away?!

Sticky floors, sticky floors,
Will there ever be a day …

When I can walk on you and not stick on through,
But glide peacefully on my way? (Deplorable sippy cups!!!)

Oh sticky floors, sticky floors
Will you ever go away?!

The Weekly Ongoings!

We are loving Phoenix - not the heat mind you - but the ward and the area are great! I am quite amazed at how small the world is when one is a member of the Church: Mary Shumway, a good friend down the street, was two years ahead of me at Timpview, Liz and Mike Fuller were in Mark and Deanna's ward for quite a while (even knew Ryan Sipherd and Dave Gill), a nanny for Blake Roney's family lives down the block, a neat lady in the ward's mother lives in Chad and Laura's ward, I baby sat for our Bishop's cousins (his aunt and uncle lived in the PV 4th ward) . . . it just goes on and on! We are having fun being involved in many play groups and activities. People actually act like they want to have us around here, unlike in Tucson.


Here are a few of the notable happenings from this past week:

The boys have each learned to say "Happy Halloween" and "Trick or Treat", they just have no idea what they mean or are used for. It will be fun come Trunk or Treat night to see if they catch on to what the phrases mean! (The ward Trunk or Treat is the weekend before Halloween)

Side note: okay, so does anyone else have pets who eat plastic?!!! I just had to chase Jack around the house so that I could get a long licorice wrapper out of his mouth - half swallowed mind you!

Back to what you all really came here to read.

As some of you may know, we have all our furniture back - soooo amazingly wonderful! And with having it all back, we have our fridge. Our fridge happens to be a water dispenser type. The boys, not having been around the fridge for almost two years, are intrigued by it. Cole has quickly learned how it all works and is apt to ask for a cup so that he can get ice (his favorite feature) and water. (Cole also always makes sure that the cats always get ice with their water!) Parker, on the other hand, has quickly learned that he is still a bit on the short side to, what might be his words, get that thing to work! But, Parker is not a quitter, he has learned to find other ways, and the other day that is exactly what he did! . . . I walked into the kitchen to find Parker in the middle of a large puddle and a bat in his hand! That little stinker is a smarty pants, I will give him that one!

Because it has been so hot here and we have tried to get the boys out to play as much as possible, we always carry Gatorade with us. Cole has taken a great liking to the stuff and is always asking for it. The funny thing is that he calls it "Gay Gay". To cut huge costs with the stuff, we have found that the powered Gatorade is much cheaper and works very well in the used bottles. The only downside to this is that Cole thinks he can then make his own - luckily I have caught him each time before he actually started the pouring!

I had the opportunity to go help clean the Mesa temple last Thursday night. What an interesting way to see the temple, especially one I have never been in before! I was very impressed by the beauty and uniqueness of the Mesa temple. Because it was my first time there, one of the night custodians took me on a detailed tour of the temple - very amazing! The one sad thing is that when they updated the Mesa temple in the endowment rooms for the movies, they painted over three of the four walls where the original murals had been. Even though it was nice that they left one wall, it makes me sad for what was lost so that there could now be three white walls - sigh! The baptismal font is beautiful (at least they did not touch those paintings!). I have never seen a temple with a font like Mesa's. The oxen are done in the same materials as the outside of the temple. I got to know much of the bottom 10 inches of the temple well as I cleaned chair legs in the sealing rooms, washed down baseboard in the basement, and literally scrubbed the scrub clean off magic erasures/sponges on the grout and tile in the men's changing rooms of baptismal font! Even amidst all the cleaning, it was a really neat night!

Well, I best wrap this up so that I can go to bed! I will add more later! Love and Smiles!

Cole the Squirrel

Cole is a squirrel! He likes his room straightened up each night, and if we do not take the time to help him do so, what ever was on the floor ends up on his bed. Some nights Cole will even go so far as to open his door several times - when he should be in bed - and one-by-one places outside his door whatever he does not think should be on his bed (it is pretty funny to watch if you are sitting outside his door listening to hear what he is up to!).

For the pictures below, this particular night Cole had more on his bed then I had ever seen (which tells you the state that his room was in before he went to bed!) I should also add that some nights Cole will collect blankets from around the house and also insist that he should sleep with them! (I think that there are four extra blankets on his bed this night)


Notice also the way that Cole is sleeping in the following picture. (Andrew tries to sleep like this most nights - he just tries to do so on my side of the bed so he oft times does not actually get his leg off the bed!) I love my boys!!!

Previous post...and these last two weeks.

So I found that previous post in the drafts when I logged in just now. It has been almost two weeks. The stats test is done and returned. I got an 86 on it. I was thrilled, the average was 80. I could describe the grades in statistics language, but I won't. That week turned out to be an insane one. Something that Tuesday was nuts, oh yes, I went to Tucson for the day and I wasn't able to do much of my preparation for class on Wednesday. Then the teacher had me be a case grader for the in-class case discussion which meant that I had a paper due within 24 hours of the completion of the discussion. I had a hectic day on Thursday which included a trip to one of the plant nurseries that was closing a location and having a huge sale. I then got sick that evening right as I finished my paper. It was a long night. Friday was a bit of a wild day since Mindy and I were both feeling lousy. We both took long naps that afternoon. Parker was asleep at the same time and luckily Cole didn't do anything horrible to himself or the house during that time. On Saturday morning our HT took me to the nursery and we got the plants for the yard. We got them for about 1/4 of the list price. I tried digging the hole for the first one when I got home and the ground was like concrete. It was mechanically compacted clay. So I headed to Home Depot to rent a chipping hammer (think small electric 25-40lb jackhammer) to dig the holes. I was still feeling lousy and weak, so I had to take a break about every 10 minutes. We got the holes dug by about 3pm and I returned the hammer. I then had to write my portion of the project paper for my Organizational Behavior class, shower and get to a Stake Center in Tempe for Priesthood session. Immediately after that I had a team meeting for the OB paper.
Sunday was much more civilized.
I had a case study paper due on Wednesday so that took a chunk of time on Monday and Tuesday. I was on campus studying from about 3-8pm on Tuesday. Then on Tuesday afternoon Ledcor CMI called and left a message for me on Mindy's cell phone. CMI is the Civil, Mining and Infrastructure branch of Ledcor. They have an office in Phoenix and I had sent my resume to them in August and never heard back. I called them on Wednesday and the guy said he wanted to talk to me on Thursday. I went to their office on Thursday and the guy asked me if I could create project schedules. I said yes and he started talking about all the work they need done, and that we would have a meeting on Friday to discuss a specific schedule. So I now have two part time jobs. We feel incredibly blessed because we didn't know what we were going to do when the Tucson job wrapped up.
I had an OB project meeting from 4-8pm Friday night, and another one today from 1-5pm. We've now got it all written and making sense. Now we just need to polish up the references and that kind of stuff.
This morning I took the boys to find a sprinkler supply store. On our way to the store we passed a motorcycle dealership that seemed to have a lot going on, so we stopped at it on the way back. They were have a big sale and the factory truck was there and they were doing demo rides. I signed up and then took the boys home and sped back there on my bike. I got to test ride a BMW RT1200R. It was really comfortable, I just wish I'd had more time to get comfortable on it and really enjoy it. Maybe if my dad listens to me, he'll buy one and then I can borrow his.
Please email Mindy asking for the posts about the boys...there is lots to tell and she's had all kinds of fun with them recently.

Weekend o'fun - an old post, never posted.

I'm glad the weekend & Monday are done. We both spoke on Sunday and Mindy also taught Gospel Doctrine (she is now one of the two teachers). Then I had a mid-term tonight in statistics. I am happy to say that it went much better than any statistics test I have ever taken before. I did bomb statistics ten years ago this semester as an undergrad. I'm glad the experience is not repeating itself. Cole woke up crying last night at around 11. The crazy part is that by 11pm, he had gotten almost as much sleep as I usually get (he fell asleep while we were getting dinner ready at 5:30) We tried to calm him down by letting him sleep in our bed, mainly because we were both too tired to get up with him. After getting kicked a number of times I asked Cole if he wanted to go to his bed. He said yes and hopped up and went to his room, pulling me by the finger. His finger pull is not a pull you resist, unless you have an extra finger to lose. He crawled up on his bed and I fell asleep on the bottom bunk. He thought it was pretty funny that I was in there when he woke up.

Our neighbors were without a car yesterday so they walked to church. It is about 1/2 mile and she got blisters. Mindy gave her a ride home and I walked with Cole as he ran all the way home. I think I've found a new way to wear him out. Maybe I'll start walking to church with him. There was a family in my last area on my mission whose little boy would fall asleep during sacrament meeting and then sleep under the bench for the rest of the block. This is something to aspire to.

Cole is doing well in nursery. He plays well and no longer pummels the other kids, and enjoys eating (they make grilled chesse sandwiches for the kids), but doesn't do singing time. When I picked him up yesterday, ... 10-10-2009 I don't know where this was going, so here it is.

Bruises, Ladders and Tools

No, I did not end up with the first by working with the third on the second.

These are some of Cole's favorite things (as far as we can tell). I don't know that bruises are really one of his favorite things, but they should be, as he is constantly replacing the healed ones. Right now he is sporting a big bruise on his left cheek. This is the same side of his face that he whacked on a box and the floor ten minutes before church several weeks ago. The bruise and scab around his eye socket were almost gone when he attempted to move the coffee table with his face after bouncing off the sofa earlier in the week. That bruise was tough-looking, but then on Thursday morning he was pulling away from me, wiggled loose and hit the same bruise on the panel of the door. He had a big knot in his cheek, and was quite angry for a while, but he is okay now except, of course, for the the big circular bruise.

Ladders make the list for several reasons. He has helped me hang ceiling fans, hang pictures, wash out the trash can (it is one of those 400-gallon units that the truck picks up), and most frequently access his new sleeping quarters. Last week I offered to let him sleep on the top bunk if he behaved himself for the day. He did and the top bunk is now where he sleeps. It has definite benefits.

1. The bottom bunk can be made once a week, and the top bunk never needs to be made, and since it is up high and I am short, I can't tell that it isn't made, and the room looks cleaner.
2. It has also become his place of refuge. He will sometimes crawl up on his bed when he wants to get away from us.
3. It makes him happy and helps make him happy to go to bed (sometimes).

His latest phase is one where he needs mom to sing a song to him. Tonight Mindy is at Relief Society, so I was responsible for getting the boys to bed. Cole was so upset that Mindy wasn't home that he crawled into Mindy's side of the bed and went to sleep. (The downside of the top bunk is that wrestling a 3-1/2' tall 45 pound child up the ladder with the ceiling fan not too far above is a bit of an iffy adventure)

Some of you know that Cole's speech was a bit delayed. He is making huge improvements. For example I was trying to hang a picture last week and needed help, so I asked Cole to go find Mindy and tell her I needed help. He did it. He also talks about his food, his shoes, wanting to play with Parker, needing us to help him, and most other things as well. Tonight he even asked me to do something and said included "please" in his request without additional prompting.

Parker is also talking a lot. Last Tuesday he told me all about seeing the elephant at the zoo with Mindy and LeAnn. Cole also told me about this and told me about the fire truck spraying water on the elephant. Parker is quite good at "no". He is also stubborn, but he is the sweetest little kid. Many times when I pick him up, I'll pat his back a bit, and next thing I know, he's patting my back or rubbing his hand on my shoulder. He also does eskimo kisses which are really cute.

One other thing about Cole. He is large, and gets excited at the park. This frequently results in other children on their bottoms, who were, seconds earlier, on their feet. Cole has learned to say sorry, and taking his training from home with Parker, proceeds to give the kid a hug, and often a kiss. This morning he knocked over a little girl, probably about 4, and then leaned over tried to give her a hug and then really tried to give her a kiss. I don't know which was scarier for her, the getting knocked over, or Cole trying to kiss her. She looked terrified. I was able to get Cole to stop. At least he means well.

I need to go figure out what to speak about tomorrow.

Skymall and the Electronic Listening Device

I posted this on facebook, but thought it was worth repeating.

Before class started tonight, a couple of us were discussing how difficult it is to hear our organizational behavior professor from our assigned seats (she seated us with our teams and my team is on the back row) and a gadget I'd seen in Skymall magazine on a flight came to mind.

http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=69668336&c=10210

I love the description.

"HEAR" and "SEE" a conversation from a football field away.
Powerful enough to capture distant sounds from 300 feet away. Zoom in and see what you're hearing. Sounds and images impossible for the human ears and eyes to pick up now seem as if you're only a couple of feet away. This secret surveillance device is perfect for when you really need to know what's going on!

The real question is "Who buys this?" There is no way that an item that wasn't selling would make it into the catalog that is in the seatback pocket of EVERY seat in the U.S. commercial airline fleet.

It is currently 10:11pm Pacific on a Monday night. According to Flightaware.com from looking at the top 32 carriers by aircraft in the sky, and then deleting the cargo lines and the foreign carriers, there are 14 airlines for a total of 603 aircraft. Assuming an average seat count of 200, which is likely low since a lot of the airplanes flying right now are headed cross-country or overseas, that is 120,600 of those catalogs in the air right now. In short, there is no way that they are wasting advertising space on a non-performing item in a catalog with that kind of circulation.

Enough of this, but if you know someone that bought this device from skymall, especially if they used the airphone in the seatback in front of them to order it in-flight, let me know.

09-13-09, finished 09-14-09

Another week has flown by and we're still somewhat surrounded by boxes. I think we're going to have a garage sale next Saturday morning. We really need to get rid of the stuff that we want to get rid of. It is taking up a lot of space.

I got out the bug sprayer on Friday and finally got the outside of the house taken care of. Now we've got dead critters all over the place. It also means the boys can go out back. We were a bit nervous after the monster black widow outside the back door last week. They played in their little pool for a while yesterday. The house behind us is vacant and they have a pool. I could just cut a hole in the block wall and get that pool fixed up, although that may require running power to the equipment via extension cord from our house. That is probably not the route we're going to take.

So today at lunch which is our new "family" meal since I'm gone at least two nights a week at school, Mindy started the "wassup" thing with Parker. He started repeating it and we got out the camera. It is going to be uploaded in the next week or so. It was great.

I failed to mention in this post when I started it on Sunday that Cole requested a haircut. This is not a lie. He watched me cut my hair and then asked for a chair and a sucker and sat in the chair (completely naked because he had just gotten out of the bathtub) while I gave him a haircut. Sometimes him wanting to be just like dad has its benefits.

I will take pictures of a park nearby. I went there with Cole this morning... Mindy took the boys last week, but the explanations didn't do the place justice. The place is incredible. The park is easily the size of the neighborhood in Brooklyn.

It is time for bed.

Thoughts on blogs and being a student

I keep thinking about how I need to somehow document our lives...and I tell myself I need to update this. Then things happen and I don't, or by the time I am able to sit down to write, I've forgotten all the funny things that happened.

As I wrote the other day, we're now in Chandler. We're settling in. Another week or so of unpacking and we'll be there. We moved the stuff from Tucson first. That was easy enough, because it was things that we had been using, so getting it put away wasn't too hard. Also, we were coming from an apartment to this home, so there was a lot more space. We felt we'd made progress until I went to Las Vegas the next weekend and brought down all our stuff from there. That was a whole lot of furniture, decorator-type items, kitchen things, and books. We're still going through it. Looks like we'll be having a garage sale soon. Some people are going to get some nice stuff. For a house this large, the kitchen is, as far as cabinets go, quite small. It doesn't come close to the massive quantity of cabinets the house in LV had.

Yesterday Mindy worked in the kitchen most of the day, and I hung ceiling fans. As I was telling Mindy, after having hung and uninstalled 11 fans in the past seven years, I've gotten quite good at hanging them. It is amazing what a difference some air movement makes.

It rained on Thursday night, and again on Saturday morning. I took the boys to the greenbelt that runs through the development. They played for a while on the large playset, but then I pointed out to Cole a small lake that had been formed by the runoff. He played in that for about 1/2 hour. It was up to his knees in places and he kept falling down. He had a great time and was soaked. We stripped him naked at the front door and hauled him directly to the bathtub.

Cole is talking a lot more. He certainly knows what he wants and will either tell us what it is, or go get it himself. I moved the family room sofa in order to hang the fan. He saw something on the bar in the kitchen that he wanted and pushed the sofa the rest of the way to the counter. I explained to Mindy that it had been on the tile and he wouldn't be able to do that when it was on the carpet. About ten minutes later I was proved wrong when I came downstairs and he was finishing pushing one end of the 7' sofa over to the counter.

This reminds me of some other things he has pushed. I peeked in the window of nursery two weeks ago and the leader was trying to get Cole to participate in singing time. He wasn't interested and wanted a toy on top of one of those rolling cabinets they have in nursery. Well, the leader moved the stuff from on top, so Cole decided to go out the back door of the room. The leader pushed the cabinet in front of the door, and Cole proceeded to push it back out of the way.

Last Sunday Cole was brought in to RS crying. He'd gotten excited during singing time and started moshing. He took out 2 or 3 other kids before injuring himself. Speaking of nursery, today is Parker's inaugural week of nursery. We're thrilled. There is a junior nursery in this ward, so we won't have to worry about Cole thumping on him.

So, thoughts on being a student. Oh the free time, if it weren't for having a job and other responsibilities. As it is, I am so glad I wasn't trying to juggle all this as an undergrad. It is utter madness trying to keep up with everything. We've been trying to establish a routine without much success. We've tried having our family meal at lunch, and that has worked well except for the part where I forget to eat dinner.

On Friday I rode the motorcycle to Tucson so I could see the site and check out some issues. This is difficult with Parker pulling on my wedding band. It was just under 100 miles each way. I was glad to get home and cool off. The ride itself wasn't bad though, and the IRS mileage allowance was far more than my actual costs per mile, so that it good.

Well, the boys are running around like maniacs, so it is time to go.

August 2009

We're six days from our Tucson departure. In mid-July we finally decided on ASU & Chandler. We found a house up there and are excited to move. Our apartment looks like a warehouse, but we're getting there. Cole is excited to have a backyard. We're excited to not have downstairs neighbors for the boys to disturb.

The house in Las Vegas finally closed last week, so we apologize to the Owens for having them move out when we did. We would have preferred them to be in the house for the last two months, and I'm sure they'd have preferred it as well.

We've now been in Tucson for almost two weeks. The ward here has certainly been a huge help. With the help of a man from our new ward (now our home teacher) I loaded all our stuff from Las Vegas last Friday and got it all down here. Now we have a whole lot more stuff than we know what to do with and will soon start becoming good friends with Craigslist. The boys love all the space, as does Mindy and the cats.

It is certainly hotter here. The boys miss the pool, and I miss the view from the balcony. Class is starting soon, so I need to go. Another night of Organizational Behavior to help me further realize how completely dysfunctional my current employer is.

We're still alive 07-14-09

Good times of the last nine weeks.

1. Time in Utah - So we were in Utah for nearly all of May. We enjoyed spending time with friends and family and the boys loved playing outside and having a backyard to play in. They really enjoyed all the time spent with their cousins. The weather was beautiful and it was a bit of shock to come back to the desert. I flew to Tucson on Memorial Day and Mindy drove to Las Vegas the next Sunday with her mom and the boys and the critters. She spent the week packing and I flew in Wednesday night and finished packing and moving the house into a couple of storage units. The help I had scheduled for Friday fell through at the last minute so I called the Bishop at 7:3o on Friday morning and at 10am there were people there to help. All in, about six people showed up to help and we got it all hauled over and packed. We are extremely grateful to them, since helping us move was not what they had planned for the morning, and it was short notice.
2. Baseball helmets - Somehow Cole ended up with a batting helmet and so did I. The first day he insisted that I wear mine in the car driving home from work. Most people were quite oblivious to it all. He ran around with that thing on for days. It came in handy when he was riding scooters and bicycles and falling all over the place.
3. Water at Rock Canyon Park - One thing Cole really liked was playing in the runoff at Rock Canyon Park. I don't know how he did it since the water was so cold it made my feet hurt after 15 seconds, but he would go run around in it like he was in the bathtub.
4. Trampoline land - One afternoon we went to a place in Lindon that had a bunch of trampolines side-by-side as well as several of those inflatable balloon toys that you see at rich kids birthday parties. The boys had a blast playing with their cousins. At one point Cole and Jonas were at the top of a slide throwing the smaller kids (not their siblings or relatives) down the slide. They thought it was great. Parker thought the trampolines were funny.
5. Wrestling with cousins - There was a lot of this that went on. Cole enjoyed pulling his 11 year-old cousin Tate over on top of him and wrestling with Jonas. Cole didn't mind the occasional thumping that he received. This led Tate to tell us that Cole was his favorite cousin because he didn't cry when Tate beat him up.
6. We drove back to Tucson on Sunday. We were able to get here with only two stops, and neither of those were for the boys. They were good sports about it.
7. Cole got sick the week we came back to Tucson. He was running a fever for a rew days and then just quit drinking or eating. We ended up taking him to the ER where they did some unspeakable acts to him which made changing diapers a lot more difficult for about three weeks. He started drinking and we were able to bring him home at about 3:00am. Jim from work was nice enough to sleep on our sofa most of the night. It was good to have him get back to normal.
8. Work on the mall has started up again.
9. We go swimming almost every day. It really helps cool me off after riding the motorcycle home in the heat. Cole has a life vest that he wears and he swims all over the pool and will jump in as well. That is working out a lot better than the arrangement last year where I had to stay within arms reach every time he got out of the pool. It is also nice to stay clear of him kicking like a mule.
10. House is now sold! We thought it was, then it fell through at the buyer's closing, and now it closes on the 7th of August.
11. A few weeks ago Cole got away from me at the mailboxes, ran to the golf cart that leasing uses to show people around the apartment complex, jumped in and hit the gas. It would have all been fine except that the key was in the ignition in the on position. The golf cart lruched forward into the clubhouse. Cole was okay except for a red mark across his belly from the steering wheel. The golf cart didn't fare so well. The windshield broke, the headlights broke, and apparently the steering mechanism also broke. That saga continues.
    
    

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165421&id=1534962567&l=6530e15863

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165423&id=1534962567&l=74020cf37f

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165425&id=1534962567&l=942731a9dd

A copied post

I was wandering around the internet and came across a blog of a family in Tucson. Then I came across this story. I thought it was worth re-posting.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Streaker!
I don't know quite what to think of what happened this afternoon at the pool.It was a nice day today, like most every day this time of the year, so Jeremy and I took Miriam to the pool near Reid Park. We like that pool because it has a fun zero-entry pool with some fountains and a lazy river, as well as a separate warm-water therapy pool.We were just about finished with our visit and were toweling off near the therapy pool when all of a sudden, I heard Jeremy exclaim, "Hey, you can see that kid's bum!"I looked up (what would you do?) and saw that a young teenage boy's swim trunks were sagging down so low that, in fact, you could see the vast majority of his bum. In another moment, I realized that the boy was one who had been in the pool near us earlier. I took notice at the time because he seemed to be slightly mentally challenged, and also because his dad gave the following instructions to his little brother, who accompanied him in the pool: "Don't leave him alone!"Well, apparently the little brother had left him alone, because here he was running around half naked in a public pool area.As we looked on, the boy's behavior grew even more bizarre. He ran up to a lady sitting poolside and kind of grappled around her face. She waved him away, laughing nervously at the increasingly absurd nature of the situation, as were we all. Then, he must have decided that his swim trunks were a hindrance to his cavorting, because off they came.There was now a fully naked teenage boy running around the pool. I heard lots of gasps from parents who, I assume, were now trying to cover their children's eyes. The lifeguards all jumped down from their perches to approach the kid. But he couldn't be caught - he was running full speed around the pool, buck naked.He ran to the far side of the pool, grabbed some bags of people's belongings, and threw them in the water. Then, perhaps realizing that there was one very important pool rule, which is not generally posted but is very widely understood, that he had not yet broken (not wearing a swimsuit and running in the pool area having been covered already), he went to the edge of the pool, stood fully upright, and promptly urinated into the nearest lap lane.I was horrified, and yet terribly amused. I looked over and saw one of the lifeguards doubled up with laughter. The lifeguard near us was laughing, too. Two poor female lifeguards had been pursuing him earlier but were now keeping their distance.He ran around a little longer without anyone challenging him. Eventually, the little brother showed up to help (I don't know where he had been, but I'm sure he got a surprise upon re-entering the pool area) and he and the lifeguards were able to corral the escaped kid and wrap a towel around him.As we walked back towards the locker rooms, we saw a veiled lady who was purposely keeping herself and her young daughter out of view from the pool area. When we passed her, we heard her say in Arabic, after peeking around the corner, "Is he done?" It was Jeremy's pleasure to inform her that the streaker was, in fact, done.I wonder if this kind of thing has happened before at the pool. And I also have to wonder if a few more households than normal are having a talk about the birds and the bees with their children this evening.

The great rollercoaster & stuff

So, some of you know what is going on with us and some of you don't. In the last week we have been told to start packing because we're headed to Denver, to pack because we're going to Las Vegas and finally to just sit and wait. The sit and wait came after giving notice to the apartment complex, Mindy's work, the Ward and the EQ, purchasing moving supplies and reserving a truck. Since we really DO NOT know what we're doing, and there is nothing to do at work, since we disconnected the phones and canceled the power, we're heading north for a few weeks starting 5/5. Mindy needs to escape Tucson and it is just starting to warm up.

We went to the pool twice this past week. On Monday we all went. Cole loved it and Parker liked it by the end. The best part was that they both slept for 11 hours that night. I took Cole on Tuesday and Parker was sad he didn't get to go.

5-8-09

This new post has taken forever to get out. I figure that if Maryanne can manage to post pictures and go on a full-fledged family vacation, I ought to be able to get a small update out.

So we're now in Utah. The boys are loving it. Cole doesn't even come into our room in the morning. He just bolts up the stairs and starts pulling at the back door and yelling "Outside, outside". A side benefit is that he is having no issues sleeping at night. He has had meltdowns at dinner the last two nights and gone to bed at 6:45 or 7 and slept for 12-1/2 hours. Parker is sleeping about the same amount. We even brought the critters with us. That was a good time on the drive up Tuesday. Jack complained intermittently the entire time despite his being doped up.

Well, that is about all for us. Yesterday Cole and I went to Sandy to find that the ATM there didn't take deposits. Note for all BofA users, there is nowhere in the state of Utah to make a deposit, so plan ahead. We stopped at Cabela's on the way home and he thought that was great. He also thought that riding in grandpa's truck was great.

Check out the pictures on facebook. The first link is of Easter and the egg hunting and the cake. Mindy has picked up on Maryanne's tradition of building a cake for each holiday.

The second link is for the photos at the Desert Botanic Garden and the Chihuly glass exhibit there. I'll add the ones of the snakes, lizards and bobcat that we saw in the past two weeks behind the apartment.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159829&id=1534962567&l=466051f102

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=161506&id=1534962567&l=90811a7838

04-12-09

So I've posted some new photos on Facebook.

Other new things.

We got called as Nursery leaders at church. I missed the first day with a migraine. I would have preferred getting barfed on by a 2-year-old. Parker likes that he now gets to go to nursery every Sunday.

Last week I finished reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Interesting book. I recommend it. Mom, Thank you for sending it, the hold list at the library was 350 people long.

I'm Currently reading Three Cups of Tea. Inspiring tale... Check out the website of the Central Asia Institute. https://www.ikat.org/.

On the nightstand for the coming weeks, 1984 by George Orwell, and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I've never read 1984, but I've heard it mentioned a lot, so I decided to borrow it from the library.

New photos were added on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158208&id=1534962567&l=dfa93937a8

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159827&id=1534962567&l=a6635f3b2e

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159829&id=1534962567&l=466051f102

And you thought you'd heard the last of us...

Here are a few more things we thought of.

Mindy told me a story about Cole jumping through the roof of a fort he had built. I don't know the story, so bug her to tell that one. She says it was pretty funny.

Parker's got soul. I guess a co-worker was onto something at the company Christmas party in 2007 when he patted Mindy's belly and said "now your baby's got soul". Whenever we turn on the music Parker will stop whatever he's doing and start dancing. I don't know if we have video of it yet, but we'll be sure to get some.

While Parker enjoys dancing, Cole loves to drum. A couple of my CDs came with DVDs. One has a star design on the front of it. Cole will grab us and point at the DVD player and say "star, star". He will then go looking for his drums. He has a small congo drum set and some other musical instruments, which have parts that he uses as drumsticks. He loves it. I think I've posted some video of him doing this...I have.

http://thebutlerzoo.blogspot.com/2009/01/two-videos-of-boys.html

I spent most of last week at home. It was really nice for many reasons. When I spend the day at work, I only get to see the boys when they are getting tired and grumpy, and when I'm headed down that same path. Anyway, one day I was working in our room and Mindy brought in the baby monitor. We've got one of those video monitors which is some of the best-spent money on these kids. We're able to see what they're doing without having to go into the room and really wake them up. It also gives a funny look into what they do when we're not around. Getting back to the story, she had put Parker down for his nap and started hearing sounds that come from his sound table. So she looked on the monitor and Parker was on his belly reaching through the slats of the crib playing with the sound table. He didn't take a nap, but we got a good laugh out of it.

Some of you may have noticed photos of Cole (linked from the previous post) with ink all over his arms. He really likes to draw, but after a while he gets a little bored with the paper and starts coloring on his arms and hands, and then complains about having it on his arms. At least we've been able to avoid having him draw on his face the day before his aunt's wedding - thanks for the memories Maryanne (mainly Laura).

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Cole was given a puppy by his aunt Kathryn for his first Christmas. He never paid it much attention until about a month ago. Now he drags it everywhere. It is an required item on his bed at night. Also posted previously are some pictures of him asleep with it.

There is one final item. Parker has started to follow us around. Not long ago, he didn't care if we wandered out of the room, or even if one of us left the apartment. Now he wails when one of us leaves. Not only does he follow us around, but he has learned, from watching Cole, that he can guide us to where he wants us by taking our hands and walking. It is so sweet, and not yet painful like it is when Cole grabs our skin and yanks, or grabs a finger and starts walking without waiting to see if we're ready to go with.

Why can't I remember all the funny things that happen?

It would seem logical that with some forced vacation and more time at home I would write more on this. The problem is that when I think of things to write, I don't feel like writing and vice-versa. It is slightly frustrating because there have been some hilarious happenings lately.

As for me and work...who knows? After two false restarts, the Owner of the property said on the 5th that the job was on hold until they stated otherwise. This tossed out any hope of the thing restarting in the near future. I was told to use some vacation time, which I am not happy about for a couple of reasons, and so I didn't go to work from the 9th until today, and even then I only went for a few hours today.

The change in routine has been nice, I've been eating breakfast, going to the gym every morning and then studying for the remainder of the day. If my alarm clock wasn't on top of the dresser to keep Cole from permanently hiding it, I would not know where it was.

Parker is walking faster than ever. He has a small tiger that roars if you squeeze it and he packs that thing around. Cole has taken to dragging his blanket and a stuffed dog that Kathryn gave him around the house. When it is time for him to go to bed he happily goes to his room, as long as he has his blanket (and sometimes another blanket just for good measure) and his puppy. He kneels down next to his bed and makes sure that his cars, milk, puppy, and blankets are safe next to him. After saying prayers, where he just says "amen" at the end, he gives me a big hug patting me on the back (and on Wednesday 3/18 a whack on the head) and then climbs into bed. It is really cute.

On Monday Mindy came home from running an errand and said that there was a fire truck, police car and ambulance in the complex. Cole and I went outside to see them. The fireman gave Cole a plastic fireman hat, a sticker badge and a little pin. That was at about 2pm. Cole wore the hat on our walk to the library and while eating dinner. The next morning when he came into our room he was wearing it. He wore it all morning, including on our trip to the park. The funniest part was when he was in the swing and the long part in the back kept catching the wind, pulling the hat in front of his face during the backswing, and then plastering the hat to his face on the frontswing. We finally got him to take it off when he came outside to help me wash the motorcycle...which is another story (and photos).

So Cole helps me wash the motorcycle every couple of weeks. I try to keep it covered, but sometimes I forget after letting it cool down and then I can't put the cover back on until after the dust has been washed off. On Wednesday afternoon we washed it and Cole was a bit more demanding than usual. He insists on holding the hose, and refused to share it at all. We've got a nozzle that has a whole range of spray types so I'm able to set it to soaker mode where it just pours out the end rather than in a stream, which is good because he thinks it is lots of fun to spray me. Toward the end, Cole just turned the hose on himself and was soaked all down the front. After I turned off the water he went up the stairs trying to get into the house. Mindy was off running errands with Parker so Cole couldn't get in. Instead he came back down the stairs and while wandering around on the rocky slope in front of the building, lost his footing and rolled down the hill. He was ok, but during his roll he discovered a pile of sandy dirt. He started playing in it, and after not too long, was picking up dirt and putting it on his clothes, apparently because the dirt sticking to his wet clothes was interesting. Mindy got home just about the time I was done. Pictures will be included.

For the past few weeks Mindy has been going to nursery with Cole on Sunday and I've been taking Parker to my 16/17 Sunday School class. That wasn't working out well so Mindy took Parker to nursery as well. Parker loved it and Cole was protective of Parker. Mindy will have to write more about that.


Some of you may not know that we have two cats. Well, we do, and most of the time they get along with eachother. On Sunday night they did not. Jack can be a bit of a bully and Maya will usually run away, but on Sunday Jack did something that really made her mad. The two of them were tumbling, staring each other down and lunging at each other. At one point Maya was sitting on her haunches, paw at the ready for slapping Jack, while watching Jack approach. Maya has a small head, huge belly and huge paws. Jack got slapped around a bit by Maya and she even had a clump of Jack's fur hanging from her chin. We ended up banishing Jack to the patio so he could calm down.

There will be more to follow. but this post is long enough.

Here is a link to the February album from Facebook. It is much easier to upload pictures there.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154337&id=1534962567&l=c0bf499fbb

Here is a link to the March 2009 album from Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158208&id=1534962567&l=dfa93937a8

Life since March 1st

I'm trying to remember what is new in the last 10 days. I guess there are a few things.

1. One day last week Mindy peeked into the room where Cole & Parker were playing just in time to see Cole take a toy from Parker. Neither of the boys saw her. Parker started screaming and Cole's response was to put his finger in front of his mouth and tell Parker "Shh shh" while frantically handing him toys in hopes of getting Parker to stop yelling before Mom walked in.
2. Later the same day Cole took another toy from Parker, and knowing that he needs to get a replacement toy for Parker, looked around and promptly handed Parker a pair of dirty socks.
3. Cole and I went to a Diamondbacks spring training baseball game on Monday afternoon. I don't think we'll be going to any more games this year - it costs a lot less to just go to the park since all he does is run around anyway.
4. Last Friday Parker turned 1. What a difference a year makes. On Sunday we had some friends over for a little party for Parker. Parker loved the cake and ice cream. Pictures to follow.
5. I spent Friday and Saturday in Las Vegas doing some things around the house. Cole was so excited to see me at the airport. Parker was asleep, but when he woke up about halfway home he made a grunting sound and had a huge smile and waved his arms. Mindy was also glad to see me.
6. Parker is getting a lot faster with his walking. It used to be that if you walked away from him in another room you had some time before he caught up. No more, he's on it.
7. Cole is making a lot of progress with his speech.
8. Parker had his one year checkup on Monday... 27 lbs and he's tall enough to be in the 90th percentile there as well.

Summer's almost here

Well, Maine summer is already here. Try 78 on for size. Not bad for the 22nd of February.



Since Cole kissed the window frame at the library, not a whole lot has happened. We're still here in Tucson so that is good. Cole has cut his lip open twice, and Cole has scratched his nose and forehead at the playground by falling down in the wood chips.


On the 7th we went to Phoenix and went the Children's museum again. We also went to the Desert Woodturning Roundup and saw Darrel, Brenda & Michael and Grandma & Grandpa Nish. We had a really good time and Cole left a lake under the table at Cheesecake Factory. That is possibly the funniest part of the entire trip.


Cole continues to work with the development therapist and the speech therapist. He's making a lot of progress and beginning to say a lot more.


Parker has now started to walk almost everywhere. Earlier this week he just started walking all over the house. He's quite stable and is proud of himself.

3-1-09

I'm actually going to post this. We went to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum on the 28th. The boys both enjoyed it. We saw the bobcats and an ocelot. What beautiful animals.
On Friday night I went to the U of A baseball game with Cole and a co-worker. Cole pretty much ran around until the 5th inning. By then he had worn himself out and was ready to watch the game.

We went for a walk this afternoon as a family since Parker now realizes he is getting left when Cole and I go for walks. Parker enjoyed it until he choked on his apple juice and barfed all over himself and the stroller. We had to strip him down to his diaper. He smelled so bad that even Cole was saying "stink, stink". I had to get out the hose and the scrub brush to clean up the stroller. Good times.

The kids are asleep and ...

Cole and the Window Mullion

So Cole and I went for a walk today. We walked up to the library, read some books and then headed out for some more running. As we headed back past the library on our way home Cole made a break for a window on the back of the library. There was a mullion (metal piece of frame between two pieces of glazing) at mouth height. His mouth met the mullion before his hands on the glass brought him to a stop. The result was an instant mouthful of blood. He just kept bleeding. So here we are behind the library and I'm trying to figure out where all this blood is coming from. Meanwhile I'm using my handkerchief to keep most of it off his shirt, and he's got blood on his hands and all over his face and on the collar of his shirt (luckily it was brown). I also had blood on the sleeve of my shirt and on my hands and forearm. A few people asked if everything was okay, and one lady was kind enough to tell me about when her kid split his lip open. Just what I needed, an anecdote. A librarian came out the back door and had us come into the employee break room where we both cleaned up and found that Cole only had a little cut on his upper lip.

We then walked/ran home so Cole could eagerly tell his "mama" about the blood on his shirt. He is now asleep and as sweet as ever.

This kid can sleep anywhere

Written Sunday night.

We've found that Cole really needs his exercise in order to go to bed at a decent hour, so I try to take him out every day after work and at least once a day on the weekend to walk/run for a while. Today we took a long walk, especially when you take into account how short his legs are. It was about 2.5 miles round trip. He did well for most of the outbound portion, but things fell apart on the return trip. He insisted on being carried, which with him weighing something north of 40 pounds is no easy task. So for a while I carried him in my arms, then I put him on my shoulders, which worked well until I felt him swaying all over (because he was falling asleep). So I carried him a bit longer in my arms until I needed a break. We sat down on a curb and he promptly put his head on my leg and fell asleep. I took pictures. After resting for about 10 minutes I picked him up and carried him the rest of the way home. I tried to force him to walk and wake up a couple of times, but all that proved is that he can walk quite well with his eyes closed (and I'm pretty sure he was still asleep). So now I am tired and Cole is still awake.

Note: We're sitting on the curb of a walking path separated from the street by a large mound of dirt covered with brush.

Parker is walking!

Parker started walking all over tonight. He's not just taking a few steps, he's walking across the apartment. He's quite proud of himself.

Week in Review

Speaking of the Week in Review, I read an article in The Atlantic this week about the New York Times and how it may be out of print sooner rather than later. Interesting read. There were also some interesting articles about the office of the President, among other things. I think I'll re-read it.


So what happened this week? Monday wasn't too thrilling, Tuesday we went bowling with friends, Wednesday we got to stay up until 11pm with the boys cleaning carpet because of a spill that occurred. I'll spare you the details, but it was horrible. Mindy came home from work and I had the boys in Cole's room playing because it was the only safe room in the apartment.


It rained all day on Thursday (a steady rain), and a little bit on Friday which means that next week everything will bloom. This is a beautiful time of year in Tucson. It is amazing how a little rain can make the whole desert come alive.


On Saturday we went to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum again. We saw the beavers, bighorn sheep, and birds this time.


Parker used the last of his formula on Friday morning so we made the switch to real milk with him, and Cole reached the end of his bottles. Parker is far less attached to his bottles than Cole. But it has been three nights now, and Cole is doing well. Parker likes the real milk, and we figure that in a week when he is used to the flavor we will switch him from bottles to sippy cups as well. We kept just a little formula to use as incentive to drink from cups, which we think will work since they both hate the taste of formula. The toughest part with Cole has been the loss of routine. He went to bed quite late on Friday and Saturday night, so today I took him for a long walk in the afternoon, about an hour and a half and another 45 minute walk after dinner. He went to bed at a decent hour tonight.


Below are some pictures from this week. If you want to see more, go to my facebook.com page and look at them there.