Aunt Rie

Aunt Rie "Carrie" is our most favorite person! She looks and talks like our mom but spoils us rotten! Aunt Rie graduated from Nursing School this May. She worked so very hard to accomplish this and we are more proud of her than she knows. During the exciting week of the graduation events Rie endured some excruciating back pain. We didn't know this for sure at the time, but she was suffering from a herniated disc. Her pain was so intense she could hardly walk across the stage at graduation, but she did it! She is strong and held her head high. Later that weekend she was admitted into the hospital for her pain and underwent a painfully, awful procedure. While this procedure was as Rie explains "the most awful, torture" she has ever experienced, it brought us some answers. She had a herniated disc that was bulging so deeply that it was sending shooting pain into nerves which made her legs numb. Her neurosurgeon arranged for surgery the following day. After the operation her doctor told us that was an enormous herniation and likely the largest he'd ever seen. No wonder the poor girl was in so much pain! That's the difference between Carrie and I. Given we were in the same situation, you ask me "What is your pain?" I would answer a 10! Carrie would answer a 3 or 4. When the nurses would ask Carrie "What is your pain?" She replied a 10. We all felt so terrible for her because you know she was truly suffering. After her surgery, she felt immediate relief from the bulging disc and nerve pain, however she now had surgical pain as they shaved off her bone and left her with a large incision. After a week or so, Rie was back on her feet applying for jobs and studying for boards. She is inspiring to all of us and has clearly proven her strength and hard work. Talk about a bittersweet weekend! Things are only looking up from here. Rie will be the most compassionate, attentive and caring nurse. Congratulations to you, Carrie!

I was obviously very proud.

My Aunt is a Nurse!



It's a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

This year to celebrate Cole's big #3, we had a Mickey Mouse birthday party. Cole had an awesome time complete with pizza, cake and pinata. Also Mickey Mouse made an appearence! Yes, Mickey himself (AKA Bobby) came to the door with Candy looking for the birthday boy.

Cole #3!

My BABY turned 3. I can't believe how fast time goes by. It truly makes me sad seeing how big and grown up Cole is these days. The picture below has some sentimental meaning to us.

Coco,

The day I was induced,  (Thursday May 7th at 4PM) Daddy and I had a picnic lunch at this very spot. We ate Little King sandwiches (I might have had 2) and talked about how excited we were to meet you. A little scared too. We didn't know that you were a boy which made the anticipation of your arrival all the more fun. We couldn't wait to get to the hospital to get the party going. You didn't want to come out...We waited a long 24 hours until about 6PM on Friday, May 8th Dr. Basset suggested we have a C-Section. You were stubborn! (Your personality hasn't changed by the way.) Shaking like a leaf on the operating table I waited anxiously for you...Your dad and I were so overjoyed when we heard it was a boy and saw your precious face. Daddy couldn't wait to take you out to the waiting area to reveal you to everyone. He made the walk down the hallway and everyone screamed out of excitement. Lots of tears! Best day of our lives. We love ya, more than anything. Happy 3rd birthday to our sweet and sour pride and joy!

The new aquarium opened at the Zoo and it is AWESOME. I never really enjoyed the zoo a whole lot...I went to see the gorillas because they are fascinating to me and really the only other reason I went was just so the kiddos would have something to do. I have a whole new outlook. The new aquarium is worth the time. We debated buying a pass this year. That decision was easy after this morning's experience!



You can jump on the pond!

Mom...you gotta see this!

Lunch time! Cole talked about this moment about every 5 minutes from the time we got there at 9:30AM. After lunch, I told Cole that I was going to get a pop. He said (not quietly) "No Mom, you drink wine." Wow, I have to admit I looked over both shoulders wondering who else heard this comment!" 

Mission accomplished! Exhausted and ready for afternoon naps :)

Hey Cole, can you get Evan A Kleenex?

Weather Watchers

Forecasts predicted strong storms and tornadoes "imminent and life threatening weather" on Saturday night. We were ready. Bristol and Erika packed up their things and were prepared to camp out at our house because Jeff was at work. Thankfully it missed us! Cole, Bristol and Evan kept a close watch on the radar though.

Hey, How you Doin'?

Easter Marathon!

We started our Easter celebration at the Croatian Hall Easter party. Egg Hunt #1. Then, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Waring's with all the Stockman's. Egg hunt #2. Great time! Easter morning, we woke up to goodies from the Easter Bunny! He brought a basketball hoop and put it smack dab in the middle of our living room. The boys had a great time dunking the ball and that's about it. Dunking requires constant lifting by a parental. This canceled out the purpose of the hoop. We were worn out and the boys were not!

After the Bunny fun, the boys got another Easter surprise from Grandma and Grandpa Waring. They stopped by and delivered a Mickey Mouse chair and Sesame Street Chair along with chocolate covered, marshmallow Peeps. Trying not to lose sight of the entire true meaning of Easter, we went to church after that. Both boys fell asleep on the way home. Time for a break.  Next up, Egg hunt #3 at Uncle Jeff's house. Grandma Ranny gave them new swimsuits and beach towels! (And more candy of course :) ) Wow. What a weekend! We are wiped out but enjoyed every minute. Well, maybe not every minute. There were a few minutes of melts downs, screaming, crying, and fighting. Geez, maybe if they weren't spoiled rotten or completely deprived of foods with any nutritional value as they indulged on nothing but sugar all weekend we wouldn't have had any meltdowns. I guess what do you expect?

Happy Easter 2012!

Game of catch? Anyone?

We tried to feed them balance meals...they rejected it.

Egg hunt #3.

Mix in a salad?

Nap time!



Egg Hunt #1: Croatian Hall



Cole left a slightly different snack for the Easter Bunny than what he left for Santa. Good timing as Summer is right around the corner, Cole!

Escape

Grandma and Grandpa gave us a hotel voucher to Kansas City for a Christmas gift in 2011. This expired on March 31, 2012 and we redeemed it on March 31st, 2012. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! The deal was,  we leave for the weekend and Gma and Gpa take our kids.  Perfect gift for every year! Keep it coming, Mom. Every occasion please. Birthday's, holidays, 1/2 birthdays, Flag Day, ect, ect.

A nice cold one when we arrived. (With a napkin tucked in his shirt in a hoity toity restaurant.)



Cheers to grandparents!



Steak and lobster dinner....not on the Plaza. At the Casino of course.

The beautiful breakfast buffet. So much fun!

Michael Cole

Pretty cool...
This photo was taken exactly 3 years earlier in the same spot.
Only difference is you live in my tummy above and out in the world below!

Oh hey there little buddy!
I am jotting down a few things about you and your brother and what you are doing right now in life, as of March 2012. You are almost 3 years old! About 1 month away, I will have a 3 year old. I can't believe that.

First off, you are hilarious. You say the funniest things and often times talk like a 13 year old. I can't believe some of things that come out of your mouth. Now that I am blogging again, I am anxious to record all the funny things and you do and say because every time I tell someone, they tell me I have got to write this down!

Your personality....Hmmm, where to begin. You are so smart! You can navigate an Apple ipad better than I can. We watch you and think, "How did he know that? How did he know how to find the YouTube app, search for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, then watch an episode of it while we are still sleeping?"  You also love books. Every night we read about 3 to 5 books. It's funny, you either are reading the words which in that case would make you the next Doogie Howser, or you have memorized the pages. If we skip words, you know it. Your memory is incredible. You see it once or hear it once, it's embedded in that beautiful brain of yours. Sometimes you repeat things that have happened weeks ago that we didn't even realize you paid attention to and ask about them. This also is a great reminder to us to be careful what we say around you! You love puzzles. We bought you a 24 piece Thomas the Train puzzle and you put it together by yourself. I think that's pretty impressive for a guy your age, but I am also a super proud mom in anything that you do. You strategically put the Lego blocks together and build towers. It is evident when watching you that you carefully think through each move before you make it, using different sizes and colors.You are talented, kiddo. I don't know what you will do in your future but I do know it's bright.

The other morning, I woke up and heard you out in the kitchen. You were sitting up at the counter on a bar stool eating chocolate pudding. You said to me "Hi Mom. I am eating pudding." Just like that. How did you reach the pudding? Simple! You went in your bathroom and grabbed your potty stool, brought it to the fridge and grabbed your pudding. Duh!

A couple of Saturday mornings back, I asked you to go give Evan a book and tell him that Mommy was coming in a minute to get him. I came in about 5 minutes later to find you gave Evan about 25 books. His crib was covered in books and Evan just laughed at you.

Everything above makes you out to be a sweet little boy. I have to be honest and state the obvious, you do have a sour side to you. But what do you expect? You are two years old after all. "Terrible 2's" have a whole new meaning since your existence. If you don't get your way, you are not having it. There is no rationalizing. Although you are a master negotiator. Last night you wanted to play your ipad on the couch. I said you can play with it for 5 minutes in your bed. You said, "No! 10 minutes on the floor!" We settled on 8 minutes in your bed. Deal. You might be a successful businessman with those skills. You throw some killer temper tantrums. After the tantrum is over completely and you have cooled down, my sweet little Cole will come up to me and kiss me on the cheek and say "Sorry Mom." You are so strong-willed and nothing will get in your way. Grandpa Waring tells me that I was the same way, still am. "Apple doesn't fall from the tree." I love that about you though and hope that attitude sticks even though it's not real fun to deal with right now.

You are my whole world and I love you more and more every day. That may sound so cliche' but, it's true. You are a compassionate, loving, strong and handsome little man.

Love you Coco,

Mom

Evan Daniel

Dear Evi,
First of all I call you Evi. I have called you Evi from Day 1 and your dad asked me, "Are you really going to call him that?" I think I will! It stuck, I love it and you more than anything. I wanted to write you this letter so we can remember what you are like right now, this very day on March 29th 2012 no matter how many months or years from now you read this. You are almost 16 months old and already have a huge personality. You LOVE your big brother, Cole. Anything he does you want to do. It's so cool to see you look at him and watch you idolize him. Sometimes Cole is not so nice. He likes to control you, take toys from you, wrestle you and push you around. He calls you "Baby." Another nick-name that has stuck. When Cole treats you like a "baby" you don't take it real well. You can hold your own, that's for sure! You have a patient personality to a degree, but once the line has been crossed, it's over. You are not happy and you show it! While Cole is bossy and a little aggressive at times, he is very protective of you. I have had to give you yucky medicine, hold you down to wipe your nose or powder your little booty. When I do this, you cry and struggle to get away from me. Cole will storm in the room and try to push me away from you yelling, "Mom! Don't hurt baby! Stop it right now!" While I reassure Cole that I am not hurting you, he is not happy. If any of his friends touch you at school or show interest in you, he will say, "That's my Evan. No." Not sure if this is good or bad...I kind of like it though and hope you both continue to look out for one another forever.

You LOVE to eat. You eat well balanced meals, sometimes the same portions as your Dad and I eat at dinner. You also love your sweets. Pretty much anything I put in front of you, you will eat. I am proud that you are such a good eater and I don't have to worry about you gaining weight. You are perfect on the growth chart...65% for weight and 82% for height.

You are a great sleeper! Every night we put you down about 8:30. Our routine is Daddy taking you and your blue blankie back to your room to sing songs. You wave goodbye to Cole and I as you go and never fight us about going to bed. If you are feeling well, you sleep 12 hours! That is awesome! You also take 1 (2) hour nap every day.

You are smart! You don't say much now, but just watching your expressions and reactions we know you are learning and taking everything in. You will play with the Lego blocks and stack several colors together  and make patterns. You are very proud after you build something. You also love balls! Footballs, baseballs, tennis balls, you name it. You want your hands on it. Even at this young age, you prefer to bat off the tee rather go down the slide or swing. If I had to predict now, I would say that you will be very interested in sports and participate in athletics. But you don't have to. We want you to do whatever you want in life! But, I can see now that this is a passion of yours.

Everyday, we get to know you more and more. You are a tough, sweet and sensitive little guy. You have so much potential and we are so lucky that we get to guide you and love you as your grow. You are a perfect addition to our family and we can't get enough of you.

Love you so much, Evi!
Mom

Spring has Sprung!

March 2012 leaves us with unseasonably warm weather. In fact, there are reports this has been the warmest March in history. We are loving it and soaking up every minute!

Baseball Jammies! Tis the season.

Yard Work! I will have you all know that 1 hour later Danny dropped the full Wheel Barrel on his toe. I believe the neighbors heard how he felt about that.

Spring Hair cut!

Cool, Cool, Cat.

Summa, Summa, Summa Time!

Pastel frosted cupcakes...yum!

Granny loves spring and her boys.

80 Degrees on March 18th.

First Spring BBQ!