Weekly update

Well I'm now officially addicted to Facebook. It seems like all my old grade school friends have come out of the woodwork and several of us recently had babies, what are the odds! Not sure how long it's gonna last though, it's just too time consuming. I have so much to do around the house and the boys are a full time job, that I certainly don't need any more distractions on the computer :)

This past week has been a roller coaster. The potty training is going so well, I keep him in a pull up at night because he isn't quite ready to make it 12 hours. Heck I can't! And I don't want him to have access to the house in the middle of the night yet. We've only had a handful of accidents this past week (we've only been trying for less than two weeks) and it's been several days since one has occured. I ask him most of the time if he needs to go potty, but lately he's telling me he has to go. Even the other day on the way home from the doctor; we were in the car 5 minutes from home and he told me had to potty. I told him we were almost home and not to potty in his pants. And he didn't! He made it all the way inside to the bathroom. I was impressed.

The other half of the roller coaster (the down side) has been his napping. He's really fighting me on naps. He is NOT ready to give them up yet, and I don't just say that because I'm not ready. Check out this picture of him in the car at 12:30.

He was exhausted. But if he falls asleep in the car, and I put him in his bed, he might have an accident. So I keep him all the way home from what ever activity or errand we are doing. Then he gets a second wind and refuses to nap. The other day we fought for almost 90 minutes. I was exhausted and had a huge headache after that. We'll figure it out. He napped for over 2 hours Friday and Saturday, so maybe he'll get back on track.

I took them both to the doctor on Tuesday. Cole had a bit of a cold and I wanted Dr. Hayes to check out his ears just to make sure he didn't have an infection. He was all good. I wasn't going to take Carter, but just minutes after I made the appointment he fell off the barstool in the kitchen onto the tile. He busted his mouth (the inside) and blood was everywhere. That is the second time in less than a week he had a mouth injury. She checked him out and said he tore his frenulum, but that was the other day - not from the barstool. She could see it was healing and should heal fine on its own. Poor kid.

While we were waiting for the doctor, Grandma had the kids in stitches while she was entertaining them with a slinky. I got a cell phone video of Cole cracking up. This poor kid was laughing so hard he was beat red and grasping for air. I could only take a 30 second clip, but this went on for several minutes.

I went to a baby shower yesterday and took Cole with me. So Brian had Carter most of the day and what fun they had. Carter is really in a Daddy phase these days. They went to the pool, did some yard work, played in the play room, etc. And Carter took a good nap so Brian got a little break. It's nice for them to have some one-on-one time. I think next weekend, we'll switch kids and I can get one-on-one with Carter and vice versa.

No pictures, just praise

I don't have any pictures to post, but I do want to let everyone know how proud I am of Carter and his potty training. In 6 days we've only had a couple accidents during the day and that's generally because he (and I) get too distracted and forget to remind ourselves it's potty time. So Yeah to Carter! I thought I was overdoing it a bit when I purchased 9 pairs of toddler underwear when we started last week. That lasted about 2 days before I had to do the wash. He loves changing them throughout the day, even if they're dry. So Mom went out and bought him another 10 or so and that seems to have helped. Half of them are white just like Daddy's - they are too cute together!

Also, I've finally joined the Facebook scene. Most of you beat me to it, and I think I've "friended" you all. If I haven't, please let me know. I'll still be doing my pictures and videos here, but check my page out over there if you want to just chat about random thoughts, that seems to be what that site is for. I've found (or rather, I've been found by) several old friends already and most of my family. It's totally overwhelming. I can't figure out what the difference between Status and Comment are. And I probably need to change my profile picture because Carter looked at it and said "Mommy, who's that?" It took some convincing for him to believe it was me :) But give me some time and I'm sure I'll figure it all out. Just as I have this blog.

Cole says DaDa

While Cole doesn't really know what DaDa means, he is saying it. He likes to imitate what we are saying. And it's funny when Carter follows Brian's lead and tries to get Cole to repeat DaDa. So it's his non-official first word. Check out the video we took of all the Shelton boys babbling away ...

It's Potty Time

Well with all the buzz around my group of friends in regards to potty training, we decided to take the plunge and start training Carter. He's just so interested in what all his friends are doing and constantly wants to potty "on my own." So we thought we'd take advantage of his peaked interest and off came the diapers on Wednesday and on went the big boy underwear. We've had a couple accidents, but mostly he's doing really well. He loves his Handy Manny underwear and wants to wear them all the time, even at night. But he's not ready for night time training. I've convinced him that the Diego pull-ups are night time underwear. But I'm sure he realizes they are actually modified diapers :)

Here's a picture of him showing off his new duds while he was trimming the grass (yes, the pretend grass in our house).

And here is one of my favorite pictures of the boys. Not because the picture is the best (though, it's pretty cute), but because of the story that goes along with it. Carter was running around the house the other morning and came up to Cole and said "Mommy, I want to hold him" So I put Cole in his lap and Carter said, "Mommy, take our picture." So I went to get the camera and after turning my back, Carter leaned into Cole and said "I love you." My heart melted. He did it unpromted and for no reason other than he meant it. It was the sweetest thing ever. So that makes this my favorite picture.

They really do love each other. Cole was cracking up laughing this morning just from looking at Carter smile. And Carter was making goofy faces and sounds at him yesterday in the car because Cole just kept squealing with delight. They get along so well and I pray that continues.

I just love being a Mom to two sweet little boys. I'm sure a little girl would be just as sweet, but this is just awesome. I now welcome my friend Louiza into the "Moms of Boys Club." She just texted me that she is having two boys. I guess they got the ultrasound results today and it's official. They were pretty sure at the last one, but this one was more conclusive I guess.

Adventures in Baby Food

Cole is starting to get the hang of eating baby food. Some things are more successful than others. He's a banana addict, so when all else fails I can shovel in some of those. But he also likes sweet potatoes and peas. Funny though, pears and apples aren't all that tasty to him. Maybe it's the watery consistency. I'll keep trying. I refuse to have a picky eater. Carter is a fabulous eater. In fact, he's only told me once that he doesn't like something. It was a month or so ago and we were out of lunch meat for a sandwich so I made a PB&J. Carter got up on his barstool and said "Mommy, I don't like peanut butter. I don't want peanut butter. I want a turkey sandwich." I told him we were out and that he could have a mustard and cheese sandwich or a PB&J. He opted for the meatless sandwich. I was shocked. Who eats a mustard and cheese sandwich . Oh and by the way, he prefers the spicy brown mustard over yellow. My kid loves flavor!

Anyhow, back to Cole's experiment with baby food. Here are some pictures and videos of our new journey into eating solid food ...

Peas - why did I not put a bib on this child

Prunes - went shirtless as I knew this one would be a mess

Bananas - look at this little eating machine.

Cole thought I wasn't feeding him fast enough, so he's gonna take matters into his own hands.

Picture Day

I took the boys in for some pictures today. I was just going to get Cole his 6 month portrait and a good one or two of both of them together. But even though Carter's photos outnumber Cole's, I couldn't resist getting a few of the most handsome 2 1/2 year old I know!!

Check out the slideshow I created. Yea, Snapfish did the creative work - but hey, I'll take credit!

Click here

Half Birthdays

Carter turned 2 1/2 the other day (Wednesday to be exact) and Cole is 6 months old today. I wanted to give Carter a half-birthday celebration, but the day got away from me (as usual) and I never did it. There's always next year!

I took Cole to the doctor today and got his stats -

26 3/4" tall - 60 percentile

16 pounds 4 ounces - 25 percentile

head is 17 inches around - 35 percentile

So he's on the same pattern as usual. On the taller and skinnier side of "average." I'm taking him to have his 6 month portraits on Thursday, but I did get a shot of him in his crib today.

Videos!

Videos are always such fun to watch. Frequently Carter will come to the computer to have me play videos of himself and/or Cole. He also likes to check out our friends' blogs to see their videos and pictures. So I thought I'd post a couple from the last few days.

Cole plays his first came of catch. You know how the saying goes "You throw like a girl?" Well, Cole squeals like a girl ...

And we had our first family of four dinner the other night - sort of. We all sat down to the table, though we weren't eating the same thing. Cole had his first taste of baby food, and Carter helped. Here's a video of Cole eating pureed bananas. You'll notice, Carter is telling us to wipe Cole's mouth - but neither of us is paying close enough attention.

And to even out the video coverage, I'll post a choppy cell phone video of Carter swimming to Grandpa in his pool. He loves to swim. He can swim the length of their pool now. Though he begrudgingly rolls over to take a breath. I need to get some good video camera footage of him doing it. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow.

More Photos of Wilcoxson Weekend

I was going through photos and found more photos from the weekend of Grandpa's memorial service. I thought I had posted my pictures, but I didn't. I only posted the group shot that Scottie took. So here are some of the ones I took.

Carter climbed an old (rusty) metal ladder that has been on the land for years and years.

Aunt Alli and Cole. They look cute together in yellow.

Carter riding the "Grandma Horse"

And rough housing with Uncle Matt

Playing with my Grandpa's nerf gun. One of Grandpa's nurses gave that to him to shoot at varius political opponents when they appeared on TV. That has become one of Carter's favorite things to do when we visit.

Uncle Jerry and his grandson, Evan.

Every day fun

I had to post a couple pictures of just some normal, every day pictures of me and the boys havin' some fun.

Carter thought Cole needed to wear his construction goggles. It was so funny. And Cole liked it.





Well, he liked it for awhile ...





Carter and I got out the play dough today. I helped him make a turtle. He was proud.



Cole playing on the floor with his feet. He loves his feet. Don't you wish you were that flexible!

I was vacuuming and those of you that know Carter, know he loves to help do everything. But vacuuming is his favorite. He wanted to share the swiffer with Cole. It was so cute.

But Cole just wanted to suck on the handle.

Happy Fourth of July

Mom and Dad are officially in their house and they are celebrating a little "Independence Day" of their own! The contractor still has a few items to finish up but they have moved back in and unpacked almost everything. Sissy, Ian & Parker came in from Abilene and Grandma, Jerry & Lois, and Scottie & Kate & Evan came over for some grilled brats and beer to have the first family get together in the new house. And boy is it a new house. It's gorgeous. I was going to get some pics of the house, but thought I'd wait until Mom put up her drapes and such. Until then, you can kinda tell some of the cabinets, flooring, tables, etc in the background of these pictures.

Here are the Rangels and the "Lil Firecracker." For those of you that don't know my family - That is my Aunt Kristi, but I call her Sissy. And those are my cousins, Ian and Parker. And yes, they are twins. They are headed to Australia in two weeks for a 6 month semester of school abroad. The are in their junior year at Notre Dame right now.

Here is Carter eating whip cream that my mom squirted into his mouth. I'll spare her the embarrassment of posting the picture of her doing the SAME THING.

Carter spent most of the weekend in the pool. Here he is wrapped in a towel just like Parker. He sure loves Parker and Ian. And he can tell them apart with ease, which is more than some other members of the family can do ...

Oh and I'll post a picture of Carter from two years ago in the same shirt that Cole had on this weekend. Carter has more hair and more pounds, but that smile is quite familiar ...

Family Portrait

I have finally posted our long awaited family portrait. For the first time ever, we are all smiling and looking at the camera ...









Well as you can see Carter had some fun with the Potato Head Family. He insisted on having a replica of each of us and he picked out every part. We have so much fun when we play together!