What's new with the Blu's!

Okay, let's try soccer!

2012-01-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

A new spring is upon us which means it's a new sport season in the Blubaum house. We enjoyed giving T-ball a try last year...up next, soccer!

I am not sure if it's because he is a year older or if he maybe just really likes soccer better than t-ball (shhh...don't tell his dad!!). Either way, soccer is going great! Here are some pictures from Cole's recent game. It's no World Cup, but these kids are cute!

Jersey distribution day! Yeah for #6!

Game day! His games are often at 8am...yikes! The kids are barely awake by then so those Saturday's are a little rough around here. Not only is it early, but the mornings are COLD!

He's already started talking about football, but luckily he has to be 5 to do that...so we have a few months. Add this to his continued request for guitar lessons and his recent obsession with the Wizards of Waverly Place and we have one eclectic kiddo! Love my boy!

Domestic Diva!

2012-01-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

Kenleigh's teachers at school describe her as "the mommy." She loves to help with everything, clean things up, help her friends, etc. She is the same way at home. Each night as we cook dinner, she gets her stool out and announces, "I help you!"

Last Sunday was no exception. I decided to make some cookies and Miss K was first in line to assist me. She ended up doing most of the work! Love to see her so happy and excited about rolling dough, cutting cookies and being the most adorable domestic diva!

Finished product! Getting ready for Valentine's Day already!

Boise or Bust!

2012-01-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

Thursday we packed up and headed off for 4 days in Boise with my sister and her family. The kids have been so excited for this trip. Cole was telling everyone he could that he was "going to Idaho, actually Boise, in xx days." He's been counting down since early December.

The 4 cousins are adorable together. They are all about a year apart at ages 5,4, 3 and 2. It was fun to watch them play and it also reminded me how happy I am to only have 2 kids of my own! :)

Each night they "camped out" in the living room to watch movies and wind down for bed.

Here they are all snuggled up again enjoying a morning viewing of Star Wars...Autumn's favorite! I could listen to her say Darf Mall and Obi Nobi all day long. Love that sweet, sweet girl!

Saturday we headed out to the Boise Aquarium! It just recently opened and we weren't quite sure what we were getting ourselves into. The kids had fun, so that's all that mattered!

Equally as fun was cousin bath time...boys vs girls!

It was so much fun to all be together and made me hope we can make our annual Sunriver trip work this year. Fingers are crossed, can't imagine missing it! At the end of the trip all the cousins gave good hugs and loves goodbye and 2 Aunties cried as they said goodbye. Miss you already Sister!

More Holiday Fun...

2011-12-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

I forgot to share a couple of other fun things that happened in December. The most exciting was that Auntie came to visit! The kids love their Auntie and I quickly move to #2 when she's in town. Here she is spending some time reading with the kids.

Rarely pictured with just each other...sisters! We were bundled up headed out of church, it was so cold!

The next weekend we hosted the Inaugural Blubaum Holiday Open House. Growing up my parents always had a Holiday Open House and I have such fun memories of their party. We've wanted to start having one...but the last few years have been filled with newborns and nursing Mom and not really in the mood to party. This year there were no excuses...so we had a party! It was so much fun and we had a great turn out. There will definitely be a 2nd Annual!

The highlight of the party (other than the chocolate fountain!) was that we had Santa make an appearance. There were about 15 kids at the party and to see the look on their faces when they heard Santa's sleigh bells and all of a sudden he came in with presents for each kid was priceless! While excited to see him, Cole was actually quite freaked out that Santa was actually in his house and for once Cole was speechless! Here they are enjoying some time with the "big man."

They also got their picture taken with the creepy mall Santa a couple of weeks later. Seriously...who's the chubby kid with the mug shot on the left? Smile girl...he just might bring you presents if you do!

I always like to put a copy of our holiday cards on the blog. By now you've all received yours so I am not spoiling anything. Kacey Droz did another amazing job. We've been working with her for 5 years now and each year the pictures and cards get better...we feel so blessed that she shares her amazing talents with our family. Thank you Kacey!

The fun and the festivities!

2011-12-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas, survived! We had a lot of fun leading up to the big day...

Thursday we headed out to Zoo Lights with our friends Sean, Rachel and their 2 little ones. It was a chilly, chilly night in Phoenix. I think I was the only mom who didn't have gloves on her kids. Who the heck owns gloves when you live in Phoenix? Apparently everyone but us! Here we are, ready to head out!

Here are 3 of the 4 little ones, including our friend Haley. Zach is not yet 1 so he was easy to contain. These 3 on the other hand, not so much. We had them convinced to hold hands...but then they would run off at top speed. They had so much fun!

We ate dinner before we left, but leave it to my kids to "get hungry" about an hour in. We had to stop and wait in the massive lines for some emergency chicken nuggets.

The next night we headed over for a pre-Christmas Eve dinner at Grammy & Papa's house. Cole has been interested in Star Wars lately (thanks to cousin Lukas). Grammy truly saves everything and had pulled out all of Shawn's Star Wars toys from when he was a kid. The kids had a blast playing with them! Kenleigh especially liked Chubaka and kept calling him "Waka." She slept with the figurine that night.

Grammy had set up a special table for the kids to enjoy their dinner. Cole of course didn't want to sit at the "baby table." Kenleigh enjoyed her meal and Papa joined her for entertainment. Love this picture, pretty much sums up their relationship!

Here are Shawn and his parents on Christmas Eve!

We had a great time reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (the version recorded by Grandma & Papa John) and setting out cookies for Santa. Unfortunately the kids got thirsty and drank all of Santa's milk. The kids posed quickly before bedtime.

By midnight we had everything assembled and wrapped. It was a long night! In the end it looked so magical with the lights on the tree on and all the presents around. I wanted to have a glass of wine, sit on the couch and enjoy it...but knew little feet would be up early the next morning, so off to bed we went.

Santa brought lots of great presents...here the kids are enjoying a few!

Dress up clothes are a hit in our house. Cole is always dressing up in the fairy and princess dress up clothes so Santa decided it was time for some boy dress up clothes. Up first...Captain Amerca!

Then a sweet little Tinkerbell wanted to join in on the fun (post nap hair do included!).

Couldn't miss the chance to picture them together. Here they are posing with the neighbors outdoor plastic light up nativity set (don't ask!).

It was truly a fantastic Christmas and I am so sad it's already over! A special gift arrived for Christmas. Marcia sent me a DVD of the photo slide show we showed at my dad's service last October. The kids and I sat and watched it on Christmas Day...I cried and smiled, it was so nice to see him on a day that I miss him so much.

Snuggies!

2011-12-22T14:00:00.000-08:00

Today is day #1 of vaca...and today is Mom vs Kids. My list was a bit lengthy of chores that had to get done. The toughest task? Operation grocery store. Somehow as they have gotten older, this has become a more challenging task. Today the kids were rock stars. Both rode the entire time in the car cart, ate their cookies from Damien, our friend in the bakery and allowed me to get my shopping done. I had to reward them for their great behavior. The purchase? Kids sized Snuggies! Cole picked out Toy Story and Kenleigh got Tinkerbell. They are hilarious and adorable. Here they are snuggied up waiting for their lunch.

The bonus of the Snuggies is that both kids were so excited to wear them that they raced upstairs to their bedrooms for nap time. Thank you Snuggie!

We have to be well rested for our outing tonight at Zoo Lights. Time to bundle up in the Valley of the Sun...it's a cold one today. Happy Holidays!

...and we're back!

2011-12-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

I can only hope that the recent purchase of a new laptop and a new computer with = more frequent blogging. I am tired of making excuses for why it's not updated. No doubt the kids will look back and know that 2011 was a busy one.

Through the busy times we still have a ton of fun. I don't have access to many pictures yet, but I'll update with what I have from my iPhone. More to come, I promise.

I updated last about Cole's birthday party...but a few days later we celebrated on his actual birthday. Of course we dined at the standard Blubaum birthday spot...Red Robin! Here is the birthday boy playing his favorite money wasting game.

Here he is again sporting his Spiderman gear from Auntie (picked out by Lukas of course!).

We pretty much start celebrating Christmas on November 1st in our house. We love Christmas so much that just the days in December aren't enough for us. Cole's first viewing of Charlie Brown Christmas (with his Charlie Brown tree next to him), was in early November.

Can't forget K...enjoying one of brother's birthday gifts!

On Thanksgiving our friend Amanda brought her dog Scout over. Scout is one of Kenleigh's favorite "people." She does a bit of over loving on Scout, but her heart is in the right place. Here they are snuggling on the couch before Thanksgiving dinner.

Elfso arrived the Saturday after Thanksgiving and greeted the kids with a fun festive breakfast. They were so excited that Elfso was back and get up each morning filled with excitement to see where he will be and if he brought them a treat from the North Pole.

Most people know that Cole is passionate about whatever he is into. Lately it is Wizard of Oz. He's obsessed! As a treat a couple of weeks ago I took him to see the show at a local theater. It was 2 1/2 hours long, with intermission and he did GREAT! He loved it! I treated him to McDonald's before the show.

Can't forget to show you how high up our seats were..2nd row from the top. Yikes! I wasn't willing to pay the high tickets price, just in case he got bored with the musical in the first 30 min. Lesson learned...

The kids definitely love to imitate what we do. Sometimes this is cute and funny and sometimes it's an eye opener about yourself! :) Two cute moments lately...found the kids "driving" my Tahoe, each sporting a pair of my sunglasses.

Miss K loves to put on make up with me on the weekends. I finally just bought her some cheap of her own...I can't bear to waste mine!

This past week the kids had their Christmas Concert at school. Adorable! All the kids were decked out in their holiday best and sang songs like, Go Tell it on the Mountain, Joy to the World and Happy Birthday Baby Jesus. Both the kids did a great job. Cole sang his heart out and Kenleigh sat front and center in a chair, smiling looking adorable and never sang a word. Oh well, at least she didn't come crying off the stage like Cole did last year. Small wins. Afterwards we went to their classrooms for cookies and celebrating. Here they are, so proud of their performances!

Cole's SPOOKY 4th Birthday Party!

2011-11-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

It's officially a tradition...Cole's Annual Halloween Birthday Party. I am not sure if I look forward to it more, or if he does. I love hosting this party and each year add more fun food and decor to the party. I am including some of the food pics on this year's recap. Somehow missed taking pics of a few of the items. Boo.The costumes did not disappoint this year! Have to throw in our family photo as we were impressed with ourselves this year!
Had to throw in one of Amanda's "Yellow Brick Road" and Vanessa as the one and only "Miss Piggy!" By the end of the night Cole was in his Halloween PJ's and ripping into his gifts. I think by 9:30pm he was finally asleep...yikes! It was a great party...Happy 4th Cole!

Heading to the Pumpkin Patch!

2011-11-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

Lucky kiddos...they got to go twice this year! Schnepf Farm's is THE place to be around Halloween. Pumpkins, dust, dirt, BBQ, carnie rides and a train. What more could you want as you welcome Fall?

First the kids Nanny, Miss Emily, took them. She is so darling...why do the kids look so crazy? Apparently K was having a snack.

There are my cuties! We had pictures from their 2nd trip, but apparently not on this computer. More updates later, I guess!

Sis is 2!!

2011-11-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

It was almost 2 months ago...but Kenleigh is 2! Most can't believe she is only 2 when they see her. At her 2 year visit she was already 37" tall...the size of many 3-4 year olds. She's slowing down on the weight side and is becoming a taller, trimmer version of herself. She is still an insanely verbal little girl. At her 2 year doctor appointment our Pediatrician commented that at Kenleigh's age they would like her to have at least 30 words and speak 2 word sentances. At that moment Kenleigh announced, "Mommy, pick up my jacket, I dropped it." The Ped and I looked at each other and laughed. Check...she can talk. :)

In untypical Blubaum style, we hosted her birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza. First time we haven't thrown the soiree ourselves, but it was so much easier to do it there! Might have started a Miss K Tradition!

Here is the birthday girl!

Here she is enjoying her "Happy Birthday" song...also featured, my friend Rachel's famous cupcakes! Can't believe my baby girl is already 2! Thanks for all the fun, smiles, snuggles and love Miss Ryan. We love you beyond words!

Wrapping up summer, even though it's still 100+ degrees!

2011-09-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

So my camera broke. Cole the future photographer was capturing memories in Sunriver and dropped it. Say goodbye to camera. What I didn't realize was that it was still working enough to get my pictures off of it. Joy! Now I can update the last 2 months of our lives. As I look at these pictures I am trying to remember the stories that accompany them. Work with me...

I was having one of those days in early August. Just a day where I was feeling sad about things. I decided I needed a pick me up and what better to do that than bringing Christmas to August? So that's what we did! We turned on Christmas music...put on our holiday baking aprons and the kids and I made Christmas cookies! It was so fun and just what I needed to lift my spirits.

Goodie Taker #1 and Goodie Taker #2 are pictured below.

I forgot that back in late July we took the kids to the Circus! We got free suite tickets (thank you Auntie Karla!) and took the kids. They lasted a little while...long enough for Shawn to spend around $50 for drinks and cotton candy. Here are the kids and I enjoying the show, sorry for the close up!
Next we headed off for our annual trip to Sunriver. Kids ages 5 1/2, 5, 3 1/2, 3, 2 1/2, 2, 1 1/2. Eeek! It was a crazy good time! Highlights included naked hot tubbing for the kids, bikes rides, trips to Goodies for ice cream, long days at the pool, watching Michael John perform and Rock Band performances after the kiddos went to bed while we ate Kristie's amazing popcorn and drank Ryan's yummy drinks!
When we got back it was time for Miss K's first day of "school!" She is enjoying 2 days a week at Risen Savior (where Cole goes 3 days a week). She is having so much fun making new friends and learning at school! Here she is on her first day, getting ready to head out the door. Spilled water on her dress while brushing her teeth, oops!

Anyone seen my baby?

2011-07-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

After crawling out of her crib on Tuesday morning and again at nap time, Kenleigh got her "new bed" on Tuesday night. She slept in it all night the last 2 nights and is being such a big girl. She really loves the bed and keeps saying, "Daddy fixed it!" She watched Shawn convert it from the crib to the toddler bed and all the while had a toy hammer and was "helping" him. Cole of course spent that time in his room with his boom box on dancing and singing to Lady Gaga. Hmm...so many things wrong with that story.

Here are both the kids in her bed trying it out!

July Updates

2011-07-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Couldn't let the month of July get away without an update. Things are busy around here, but what's new? Travel schedules, promotions at work, kitchen remodel and a nearly 4 and 2 year old are taking up all our time.

We decided about a month ago to remodel our kitchen. We are excited to make some updates and will share pictures as the work gets going. They are installing our new countertops this coming Wednesday and the rest will come together from there. We made the crazy decision of taking the kids with us to go appliance shopping. It got ugly towards the end. Here is Cole (before his haircut!) posing with the new oven. As the kids get older their sibling love gets stronger! That's not to say we don't have drama moments, but for the most part they are buddies and want to be together. We've started to do combined book reading at night instead of the divide and conquer approach we've used for almost 2 years. It's going okay...when Sis actually sits still and listens to the book. Most nights she just takes whatever book you are reading out of your hands...so we read about 2 pages from multiple books. Here are the kids snuggled up with Dad reading. Our special family friend Clifford also pictured. We are huge Clifford fans! It's hard to believe our baby girl Kenleigh is going to be 2 in just a few weeks. She has grown up so fast and the past few weeks make us feel like she is even more of a big girl. I have carried around a secret about her for almost a year now. Kenleigh obsessively loves her pacifier. Cole loved his too...until about 13 months and then he moved on. Not Sis. She turned 1 and I thought, oh we'll get rid of it in the next month or so. Then 15 months and I still thought, ah she's fine! 18 months passed and she still was so attached to it. With her 2nd birthday approaching we knew it was time to get serious. Thank the lord for Miss Emily, the kids nanny. Emily decided one day she was getting K off the binky and almost just like that it was gone. We've had a successful couple of weeks and Sis only asks for it now and then to which we say, "no more binky" and she says, "no more...Grammy took them!" Not sure how Grammy got the bad wrap for the no binky policy, but it's working! Additionally she is working on potty training. She is so cute in her pink princess pull ups...so different than with a boy! She had a great week of doing big girl things in the ladies room so we celebrated with a giant cookie! Cole got one as well when he had success in that area. Here is her "potty" "train" cookie. Picture below shows that I think she loved it!Speaking of growing up, I almost cannot stand how grown up both Cole and Kenleigh look in this photo. They look equally as unphotogenic. Sheesh!

Kicking off Summer!

2011-06-26T16:30:00.001-07:00

Just a few pictures to try and update what we have been up to the past couple of months...all is good and I am actually going to be home, in town with my family for 1 entire month straight. I cannot wait!

Say, didn't we go on a cruise?

2011-06-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

The last week of April the entire clan of Blu's (Grammy, Papa, Shawn, Kelli, Cole & Kenleigh) departed for a Mexican getaway! We set sail on a cruise from LA and enjoyed a week of sun and surf in Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. I was unsure about the kids on a cruise ship and the small cabins and the massive amounts of people...but they surprised me, as they always do, and did great!

Here is Sis on the road trip over to LA...taking care of her baby like a good mama.

The kids were so excited when we got on the boat. We all headed up to the pool deck to say Bon Voyage! Live music and my kids go hand in hand. Their dancing feet were groovin'!

When we woke up Sunday morning it was Easter! Luckily the Easter Bunny remembered to deliver the kids Easter baskets on the boat...they were so excited when they woke up and found them. The boat of course didn't disappoint with Easter festivities. Cole jumped in for a photo and K just got kind of scared. Oversized characters in costume are an accquired taste I suppose.

With so many fun things to do on the boat there was never a dull moment. Cole took a liking to the Arcade and we spent a lot of money on games and our favorite...Guitar Hero! I stand by my statement that Cole will be a rock star long befor he is a sports super star. He loves music, listenting to it...playing it...watching it being performed. He is my band geek, in such a cool little boy way. We are considering guitar lessons here soon...he and Daddy want to take them together!

Plenty of time was spent in the pool too, of course! These kids and their goggles crack me up. They look so ridiculous in this picture but are having the time of their lives!

Here's another couple of kids having the time of their life!

There was no shortage of food during the cruise! A few fun moments from meals...

The other joy of cruises are the fun towel animals they make in your room every night at turndown. The kids would so look forward to getting back to the room to see what was waiting for them. Here they are with a few of their favs! It was such a fun trip and a ton of amazing memories were made, all thanks to Grammy & Papa. Thank you so much, we love you guys!

Where you been, Blu's?

2011-04-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Have spent 45 minutes trying to fix the spacing...everytime I fix and save, it screws up when I hit publish. Any feedback? So frustrating!

2011 will apparently be my year of sporadic blogging. Sit down, this may be a long one...

On March 8th Miss K turned 18 months old! How did my baby grow up so quick? I am really enjoying this age with her. She is so interested in everything, talking up a storm and just really gaining her independence. What is crazy is that when Cole was her age we moved him into a big boy bed. I cannot imagine Sis being out of her crib. Shawn tells me I am holding onto the baby stage longer with #2. Cole really had to "grow up" quick when he was her age. She was on the way and he had to move on up and out of things so that he and we would be ready for her arrival. She had her 18 month check up and the stats are in:

Weight: 27lb 3 oz 80%

Height: 34" 95%

In comparing the kids, I think it's interesting that at 18 months K is already 4" taller than Cole was at 18 months. WNBA bound?

Hard not to smile back at that face!

In the past month, Cole has started playing T-Ball. We signed him up for soccer and when we told him he said, "no, I want to play T-Ball." Well, okay then! So far I am not convinced we made the right decision. He is easily distracted with practice at the park (people on the swings, flying kites and doing the things he would rather be doing), the Coach is a little hard core for me and my Thurday evenings and Saturday mornings are shot until he is about 18. Other than that, we heart T-Ball. :) #33's jersey...

Up at bat...then tried to run to 1st base, holding onto the bat! Then picked his nose while on 1st base. Oh well... Later in March we boarded the plane heading to Grandma & Papa John's house in Virginia! What an adventure. The kids did great on the way there. On the way home I considered drinking the whole way home. If I passed out, certainly someone else would have to take over for me, right? :) Here is a happy one on the way there. Check out all the teeth coming in!

Grandma & Papa John had so many fun things planned, including a trip to the Children's Museum. So much fun! Highlights included me making Cole pose with all the silly picture props, shopping in the grocery store, putting on a performance in the theater (and wearing 7 costumes at once) and the kids starring on the local news. "Mommy, I'm on TV!" He told us that about 50 times. Sooo excited!

Shawn, Cole & Papa John took advantage of K's nap times and explored more of Virginia. These are priceless photos and ones you could only get in the south. I had to giggle when Cole came home with his souvenier Confederate Flag stickers. Seriously.

Hard to get a good picture of all 5 of us, our best attempt (sorry Cole!).

Speaking of bad photos...this was taken BEFORE cocktail hour. Yikes! :)

We started off April with the celebration of our 5 year wedding anniversary! Here we are getting ready to head out to dinner. Miss K was not in the mood to be pictured, sorry.

Working with what you've got!

2011-03-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

I've made no secret about Kenleigh's lack of hair. When she was little, I always commented on it before anyone else could. She was like an old man with long hair on the bottom and sides and nothing on top! Over the past few months things are looking up for Miss K. There is some hair coming in!

I always try and keep her super girly with headbands (like she wore in our Holiday pictures), etc. Just in the last few weeks we are wearing ponies! While I am getting her dressed in the mornings she always points to her head and says, "ponies! ponies!" She loves to wear them. Now, they are the ittiest, bittiest little ponies, but darn it the girl has ponies! We are rejoicing.

Here are a few pictures of my decorating K's little head and a quick side shot of the tiny ponies...don't blink or you'll miss them! Love you sweet sis!

First Heartbreak...

2011-02-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

Cole has a friend at preschool, actually a "girlfriend." These were always his chosen words, not ours. Her name is Tessa and she and Cole are like peas and carrots. Since he started preschool in August they have been the best of buds. Tessa is the sweetest little girl and Cole just adores her!

We got the sad news on Friday that Tessa was leaving the school. I received a note from her mom letting me know that she wanted the kids to stay in touch and so we will be setting up a playdate with them soon.

Last night, Cole's teacher forwarded me this picture of Cole & Tessa from last week. I just love how he is all snuggled into her and they look so happy on the playground.

When I dropped him off at school this morning I asked, who are you going to play with today? He replied, "not with Tessa, Mom, she's not here anymore." SAD!

It's always hard to see your first love go...she was a cutie pie Cole...good pick! :)

Thinking Punxsutawney Phil might be right!

2011-02-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

I can feel it...spring is coming, soon! We enjoyed beautiful weather in January. Amazing weather! Weekends at the park and the zoo and in the pool (heated of course) and just enjoying the sunny desert! Other than the cold spell we are having this week, I think that little groundhog just might be right, spring is coming early, at least in AZ!

Over the MLK weekend we enjoyed a visit from the Vo's! So good to see Truong and Candy and to finally meet Mr. Taison! He is adorable and was the perfect playmate for Kenleigh! We headed over to Shawn's parents house and the heated pool for a Saturday afternoon dip.

Here is Taison, all tuckered out after swimming at Al & Virg's!

Here is a sunny day we spent at the park. Cole had his first adventure with the monkey bars! He loved them and did an excellent job getting across, with me below to catch him just in case.

Then Sis tried to go up them. Sorry Sis, maybe next year! A weekend adventure to the zoo wrapped up the month. Another beautiful day, I think it was around 76 degrees! Warm enough that the kids got to wear shorts and teva's...in January!

Cole and Shawn mapping out our route.

Lunch break! Peanut Butter sandwich and a Capri Sun...lucky gal.

Only in Arizona does the zoo have a giant Saguaro Cactus slide!

Here comes the Cole man!

My pesimistic side must also note that I woke up this morning and it was 22 degrees. We don't even own clothes for 22 degrees. When I dropped Cole off at preschool this morning his teacher said during chapel they were going to pray and ask God to turn the heat back on. Only at the Lutheran Preschool do you hear things like this!

My babies!

2011-01-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

Nothing baby about these 2...they are growing up so quickly! Here are a couple of pictures of the kids from our family photo shoot from December. Kacey Droz has been capturing their smiles since Cole was just 4 months old. She always does an amazing job and designs our Holiday cards each year as well.

In keeping with the no more babies post, I need to update on Kenleigh's 15 month stats. I am a few weeks behind. The big keep getting bigger. Sis is holding strong in her 90th percentile division!

Weight: 26lb 2oz (90%)

Height: 32" (90%)

Keep it up Miss K!

They came...and they went!

2010-12-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

I am hoping this is the last time I have to start my blog with excuses as to why it isn't up to date! Holidays, they are just busy I guess.

We attended Shawn's Holiday Party earlier this month. The first time we have attended since 2006...ever since then I have been pregnant or taking care of an infant during Christmas. We had such a great time! Here we are all dressed up for the festivities.

We got a rarely captured picture with our friends Josh and Katie, too!

It's become a tradition in our family to go see it "snow" during the holidays. Of course living in Arizona this doesn't mean what it means everywhere else. Cole loved it again and I am sure next year Sis will as well. She was too tired so she just relaxed in her stroller.

It was then time for Cole's Christmas Concert. We were so excited for this event! Mom, Sis, Grammy, Papa and Emily all packed up and headed to church to see his preschool performance. Unfortunately Dad had to work and wasn't able to join us. Turns out he didn't miss much! Got Cole all dressed up for performance and I think he lasted about 3 minutes on stage. He then started crying and wanding off the stage saying, "Mommy? Mommy?" Yep...I had that kid! I have pictures, but really aren't worth posting. Who wants to see forever how sad Cole was as his friends sang, "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus?"

Holiday baking is so much fun, especially with the kids. They always want to "help" which is just so messy and ridiculous but what the heck...I let them help. Sis got her new apron on (the 3 of us have matching ones. Mine says "Goodie Maker" and their's say "Goodie Taker") she was ready to help. I then looked over and she had Cole's bike helmet on. I guess she knows was a messy and dangerous job baking is. Safety First Sis!

Speaking of baking, Cole insisted that this year we make a Birthday Cake for Jesus (thank goodness for Lutheran Preschool!). Here is the finished product and what was our dessert on Christmas Eve. Totally decorated by Cole! :)

Here we are at church on Christmas Eve...what is with our red eyes? Clearly there is a function on my camera I am not understanding?

We left cookies for Santa, but the Guiness was Daddy's! Santa got milk (not pictured).

Christmas Eve was spent assembling Sis' kitchen from Santa. Here is the finished product, it is so cute! Woo Hoo...he came, even without the chimney!Too bad for Santa he left 1 gingersnap cookie behind. Lucky for Sis...she snacked on it all morning! I think she is inspecting one of brother's presents here.Santa brought so many wonderful things, but as it turns out everyone had their favorites. Cole's was by far his DJ Lance hat and glasses. He hasn't taken them off, once again wore them to school today.

Miss K loved her kitchen! In action...making something fab of course!

Here is Cole enjoying Daddy's favorite present. The Kinect for his Xbox! They played all day going river rafting, bowling, boxing. Mommy and Daddy even played into the wee hours of the morning one day. Shawn got so into it that he actually hit the ceiling fan with his hand while "spiking" the ball during a game of beach volleyball!

We had a great Christmas overall. The absence of my dad was felt all throughout the season. He loved Christmas. He loved the decorations, the cookie making, the chex mix, the traditions, his family and the entire thing. Hard to believe I won't spend another Christmas with him. We will carry on his traditions in our house and pass them onto the kids. Lefsa doesn't make the man, but the man loved lefsa...so we will eat it! Love you Dad!!

My name is Cole...I like to Dance!

2010-12-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

Yo Gabba Gabba! I have no idea what it means...what it is really about...but it is the current obsession of Mr. Cole. He really goes all in when he loves something (remember the Elmo craze of 2008-2009?). The kids nanny got him turned onto Yo Gabba Gabba and now we all know and love DJ Lance, Muno, Foofa, Brobee, Todee and Plex. I think DJ Lance is stuck in a time warp and has remnants of a bad acid trip from a rave in the early 90's. Nothing else could explain his outfit, dancing and relationship with the Gabba Gang. All that aside, my Cole loves it, so I am on board too.

Saturday Cole and I went to go see them live in Downtown Phoenix. I about fell over when I saw the price of the tickets, but like any good mom I hit purchase on Ticketmaster and then hit the cash machine on the way to the show knowing I would get suckered into major promotional merchandise purchasing. I was right! The overpriced t-shirts, keychains, etc. all came home with us. PS...we like Brobee the best in our house.

They give out DJ Lance glasses when you arrive. The crazy guy handing them out said, "don't forget your 3-D glasses!" When Cole put them on I noticed they had no lenses. Interesting 3-D glasses. Regardless, Cole loves the glasses...he put them on immediately. Wore them the entire show, took a nap in them on the car ride home and when I dropped him off at preschool this morning, he was still wearing them. I am sure parents were thinking all kinds of things seeing my crazy kid wearing oversized black cardboard glasses to school. Awesome! Here is a close up of Cole in his glasses.

I was so excited to get lots of pictures at the show. I pulled out my camera ready to snap away only to discover the batteries in my camera were dead. Not awesome. Luckily this day and age everything has a camera on it. I pulled out Cole's iTouch and snapped a couple of pictures. Loved this one and had to share. Cole, in a Brobee t-shirt, wearing his DJ Lance glasses, posing with Plex (the magic robot).

At one point in the show the Gabba Gang enters the theater from the back and each character comes down an aisle. Luckily we had aisle seats and Todee herself walked right by us. Cole got to touch her and I swear it was like a celebrity sighting for a 3 year old! As my sister said, "he'll never wash that hand again."

It was expensive and loud and total, total fun. I am so happy we went and I will always remember the excitement on his face seeing his Gabba friends so close up. In the words of DJ Lance it was truly....AWESOME!

Nothing like being a month behind...

2010-12-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

I cannot seem to get back to blogging! I have missed so many events...work with me!

We celebrated a very important birthday on November 3rd...Cole turned 3! Faithful blog readers can guess very quickly where he wanted to go for his big day. Yep, Red Robin. Again. I guess Clucks & Fries and the free sundae gets him every time.

This picture kills me...these stupid machines drive me crazy. You never win and really, who wants to win the scary stuffed animals inside anyways? Well, must have been Cole's lucky day...he actually got the claw to pick up 2 prizes in this one. I think the prizes were a sticker and a plastic ring. Awesome, great use of $2.

After the birthday dinner we came home and opened presents. Cole got so many fun things including these cool drums. He is obsessed with music and starting a band (he has asked Santa to bring him a Guitar). It comes from Yo Gabba Gabba and the episode where they start a band. Brobee is his absolute favorite and Brobee plays the drums. These drums can hook up to his iTouch (yes, I did say HIS iTouch...another birthday gift) and play his music through speakers on the drums and he can jam to the beat! Here is Cole riding his new scooter in the house. It has since been moved outside and is an outside toy only. Funny he rode it around inside the house more than he does outside.Birthday celebrating wrapped up and we started planning for Thanksgiving, which included a Thanksgiving Breakfast at Cole's Preschool. He only goes to Preschool Wed/Fri, but the breakfast was on a Tuesday. So...we all packed into the car, invited Grammy and Papa and arrived ready to feast on breakfast. We had visions of french toast, bacon and coffee. We walked into a platter of Krispy Kreme doughnuts cut into fourths and some apple juice. Sad! I tried several times to get a good picture of Cole and I at the breakfast. After 4 takes, this was the best we could do. Why??

Here are Cole and Grammy making Turkey's on Thanksgiving. Cute little craft with apples/marshmellows/toothpicks and candy corn.

Thought it was funny that in the middle of all the action Kenleigh had to dive right into the toy box. I guess it's easier than standing and trying to pull them out...just become one with toys Miss K!

This one is for my sister (the vegetarian). Somehow Kenleigh got a hold off the drumstick and the girl would not let it go. I kept trying to take it away and she would throw an absolute fit. She gnawed on that thing for a long time....savoring every last morsel. Gross!

I guess that brings us up to date! Last night we attended the Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort. Our friends Rachel, Sean and Haley joined us. Cole and Haley have been buddies since they were less than a year old. I love watching them grow up together.

Sporting their Fireman hats after a tour on the Fire Truck!

So rarely captured pictures of just grown ups! One of me and Rachel and of me and Shawn!

To Infinity and Beyond...!

2010-11-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

On October 30th we had our first of what we hope will be Cole's Annual Birthday/Halloween party. When we found out I was pregnant with Cole and he was due on October 25th we had visions of Halloween Birthday parties for him. When the little bugger took so long to come and arrived on November 3rd we weren't sure Halloween parties would work. Much to our happiness it was a great idea and will be our new tradition.

We had about 25 adults and kids, all in costume, come for the party. It's awesome to see Grandparents, parents, kids, single people in their 30's all dressed up. Some great costumes were seen. Miss Piggy was my personal favorite and I didn't get a picture of her. Sorry Vanessa!

Here are a few highlights from the party!

Buzz & Woody

Sister Virgina, Wonder Woman and Princess Jazmine Woody & Fairy Princess Emily (Kid's Nanny)
Father Al and Alea (dressed as a Huskers Fan, okay so not everyone dressed up!)

Woody & Cowgirl Sara enjoying birthday cupcakes!
The next evening we set out to go Trick or Treating. The kids got dressed up in their costumes (which now had a few stains on them) to head out. I was really excited to go with Cole this year as last year I missed the fun being home with our tiny newborn Kenleigh. It started out great and then we realized that as we left each house, a group of older kids in very scary masks were always walking up. By about the 4th house Cole was so scared of the kids and their masks that he asked to go home. We tried to get a few good pics of the kids before it all went to heck. Action shot of WonderWoman! Wondering if her super powers can break down the gate?

Howdy Pardner!

It was a great party, a great Halloween and makes us look forward to all of the fun we will have in future as the kids get older!

Fall in the Northwest

2010-10-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

I always loved fall in the northwest. Beautiful leaves, cooler weather, boots and sweaters. My dad always loved it too. He passed away early in the morning on September 30, 2010 which turned out to be just a perfect fall day, one he would have loved to see.

When I rushed to Seattle on a moments notice late last month I never would have imagine I would end up spending 2 1/2 weeks there. Among the difficult times during the trip there were good ones too. I thought I would post a few pictures of the fun times.

We met up with Amy and her 2 kids to go to the Pumpkin Patch one day. Cole was in heaven! Grace is 9 years old and her and Cole hit it off instantly. They had so much fun on a big slide that they had at the patch.

I think the look on his face explains it all...heaven!

Just a couple BFF's trying to look happy during a sad time in life.

Speaking of BFF's, did I mention these 2 were?

Anyone else have a 3 year old that they can't get to smile "normal?"

Sis was excited to wear her boots, too!

He took a piece of my heart with him...

2010-09-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

Charles W. "Bill" Fromhold

August 11, 1942 - September 30, 2010

12 month stats

2010-09-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post Kenleigh's 12 month stats. This is really more for my memory than for anyone else...but if you are comparing, yes...she's a big girl!

Weight: 24lb 8.5oz -- 90th

Height: 30.5 inches -- 90th

Head: 17 3/4 inches -- 50th

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Tall, chunky and ... I won't say it! Love my girl!!

Has anyone seen my baby?

2010-09-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Still playing catch up here...so, Miss K is now 1! I look at this precious little girl and realize she is no longer a baby. I am baby-less! She is walking, talking (says Mama, Dada, Bye Bye, Uh Oh, Ball) and chug-a-lugs her milk like such a big girl. It's gone too fast!

Celebrations started on her big day, September 8th. We took her to the standard Blubaum birthday location...Red Robin! Obviously her brother got to pick her birthday place. Sis enjoyed an ice cream sundae in celebration of turning 1. Here she is wanting more sundae!We came home and opened presents, correction, Cole opened her presents. She enjoyed watching him open them and then played with the paper. She got a pink vacuum, a baby doll and stroller and a bunch of other fun, fun toys! Here she is looking down checking on her baby.

Oh, and trying to get mommy's carpet clean (it's a lost cause, Kenleigh!)!

That Saturday was her party...ladybug themed! We even dressed up the birthday girl in theme with her party. Here she is with Renee. The wings lasted about 40 minutes, I was impressed!

I have raved before about my girlfriend Rachel and the amazing job she does with cakes and cupcakes. She went above and beyond again this party with these cupcakes. Adorable and delicious! Thank you Rachel for sharing your talents with us!

Mommy and the birthday girl...who was apparently reaching for a balloon, or something better than me!

Kiss this!

We always start celebrating holidays too soon. Halloween is no different. The Halloween jammies have been brought out! I love Cole in these...they are just so Cole!

Happy College Football Season...Go Cougs! Wait, who dressed these children?

So far behind...

2010-09-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Not even sure at this point how far to go back, I am so behind in blogging!

I was in Seattle in early August spending some time with Dad...this is what Cole wore while I was gone. WTH?

Miss K turned 11 months on August 8th...I think this is her funniest monthly photo yet. She is cracking up and if you look closely you can see her 2 little bottom teeth!

On August 9th we packed up the family and headed to Sunriver, OR for a week long vacation with my sisters family and our friend Catherine's family. The 3 of us spent our childhood vacationing together in Sunriver so it was so wonderful to come full circle and take our families together. We rented a house and had 6 adults and 7 kids...ages 6 months - 4 years old. Holy cow! It went a lot better than we thought it would. We committed to going again in 2011 while we were still there in 2010. Such a great trip!

Here is Sis trying on her new Abby helmet before we left. Don't mind the giant pacifier.

We rode bikes, went to the park, the bounce house, the pool and just had a great fun week. We also made 2 special trips to Goody's for ice cream. You can just tell how much Cole hated it.

One night we went to go see Michael John perform his great live music. We grew up going to see him on vacation in Sunriver, so seeing him brought back so many fun memories for my sister and I. Speaking of sisters...here we are. Sorry Kris, didn't crop out the ice cream. :)

Here are Ryan and Catherine and one of their three little ones. Miss Addie, so cute! Addison is 3 months younger than Cole.

Somehow I cannot figure out how to get videos from my cell phone onto my computer and post them on my blog (techies out there, please assist). Because I don't have the video as proof...you will just have to believe me that Miss K is walking! She started right when we got back from vacation and she is mastering it fast! She beat her deadline of walking by 1 year...but only by about 3 weeks. Good job Sis!

Look at this sweet baby!
Okay, I think that is it for August. Onto September...

Goodbye my friend...

2010-08-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

I am out of date on this post, but wanted to share the very sad news that our friend Fletcher is now in heaven. He left us on Friday, August 6th. His kidney's were failing and he just wasn't getting better. Shawn was with him the whole time to hold his paw and say goodbye. He was one loved kitty, even his pet sitter Melinda made a trip to the vet to say her goodbye's. Fletcher has always been the profile picture on her Facebook account for her business.

What a cat! The stories go on forever as does our love for the little guy. We always said he had 19 not 9 lives. He lived them all to the fullest. From when Shawn found him in his backyard in November 2002 until the day he left us those 2 were the best of friends. Shawn saved Fletch, but I really think it went both ways. We aren't sure what to do with ourselves at 6am and 6pm (normal blood sugar/insulin time). If you ever end up with a diabetic animal...give us a call. We are experts after 7 years with one.

Here are some pictures with Fletch on August 6th.

We just returned from a week in Sunriver, OR (the reason this posting is late) and Shawn, the kids and I were on a bike ride one morning. We were riding for quite awhile when out of no where an all black cat, same size/frame as Fletcher ran across the bike path in front of us. We were both silent for a moment and then both said out loud that we just knew that was Fletch, letting us know he is okay and at peace.

Will post pictures (what few we took!) from our vacation this week.

Not just another Saturday!

2010-07-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

A Saturday in July that has cloud cover is reason to get out of the house and enjoy the weather here in Arizona. It was cloudy this morning, muggy, but only 78 degrees at 7am! This might sound odd if you don't live here, but it was 98 degrees when I was driving to work on Thursday. Seriously?

Anyways...we decided to take advantage of the more comfortable weather and take the kids to the park bright and early. We hit up Starbucks for a wake up bevvie and actually went to a new park that is by our house. Not "new" just new to us. We barreled in with our crazy crew only to realize we were disrupting an intense Boot Camp class. Deciding chasing our 2 kids was workout enough for us, we just blazed on through and headed to the play equipment.

For the first time Miss K got to go in the swings. She was too little before and then it got so hot that we haven't been going to the park as much. She loved it and laughed the whole time.
Cole still loves to swing as well. We were having such a good time and didn't want to leave, so I went home quickly and got Sis her breakfast and came back to feed her in her stroller. She certainly didn't seem to mind!

Although the next 2 pics aren't from this morning's adventures, I wanted to post.

Seriously, are these 2 related or what? Sis without her smile, WHAT? A rare occurance I am almost glad we captured on film. :)

Shawn taught Cole how to play Xbox. Well, he taught him green button means go and red button means stop. He has Toy Story and Lightning McQueen trial games that he sits and "plays." Starting him a little young aren't you Shawn? Although I am hopeful this will be helpful in my quest for us to get a Wii. We pretty much are the last one's on earth to not have one!
Enjoy the weekend...only 3 more weeks until our vacation. Sunriver here we come!!

Where's Woody?

2010-07-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Cole and I had a first this past weekend. I decided, after talking it up for weeks, that I would take Cole to his first movie. He wanted to see Toy Story 3. He wanted to "sit in the dark and eat popcorn" and see Buzz & Woody. Let's be honest, he's never even watched all of the first Toy Story in his own house. So...I had no illusions that he would sit through a 2 hour movie in the theater. But...in the spirit of making memories, off we went to a matinee on Monday. Here he is, sitting in his seat, eating popcorn!

The previews took forever and after each one he'd say, "Mommy, where's Woody?" After going in and out of the theater 3 times, I decided it was time to call it a day. He did really well at first and lasted almost an hour in the theater. At the end he was walking up the aisle saying loudly, "Mommy, I want gummy bears." This was code for we are done here. It was fun and I look forward to the day when he can sit through an entire movie...at home or in the theater. So far we are 0 for 2.

We also went to the Phoenix Children's Museum with Cole's friend Haley and her mom Rachel. Here are the kids playing in the Grocery Store, weighing peas! This is what we call Cole's "pirate smile."

I thought this photo was cute...somehow the kids ended up in Shawn's laundry basket. I think they are both mesmerized by Elmo on the tv...

Livin' on Lake Union!

2010-06-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

I arrived today in Seattle...the grey skies greeted me. My sister and I are here spending some time with Dad before his July 7th transplant date.

He has moved to the city and is living across the street from Lake Union, just a few mintues from the hospital where he is receiving his treatment. Here is the view from his room at the Residence Inn. It's great to sit out on the balcony and watch the boats and people going by.

Kind of making me miss this place!

9 months old and other outdated news...

2010-06-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

I missed my 9 month post so bear with me as I catch up. Miss K turned 9 months old on June 8th. Baby girl is getting so big and so independent. I posted the picture of her "walking" last week. She is also getting very interested in the stairs and climbed all the way to the top on Wednesday (Grammy was behind her the whole way). I guess it's time to get those baby gates back out again. Darn it! Miss Independent also doesn't really want to be fed anymore. She is becoming quite the self feeder. It makes mommy and daddy happy that they can stop buying over priced organic jar food. Woo hoo! She is still saying Ma Ma and Da Da. She is a tough little gal. Takes a lickin' from her big brother and just keeps on going. Sometimes she is startled by the unnecessary roughness, stops for a minute, let's out a small squeel and then just carries on. I love my girl!

I've been doing monthly photos of her in the same place since she was born. They get harder and harder to take as she just wants to take off, not sit still for her picture. SO...after 1 week of trying, this is the best we could do! The official 9 month photo:

Here are the 9 month stats:

Height: 28 1/4" (75 percentile)
Weight: 21lb 15oz (90 percentile)
Head: 17 1/4" (75 percentile)

She doesn't seem to be slowing down in size. Still my big girl. What, you mean every 9 month old is sporting 18-24 month clothes?

Since this blog is out of date and out of order, I'll just stick with it. We celebrated Father's Day last Sunday with breakfast with the family. Papa had a great idea to go to the restaurant at the Chandler airport. It was great, although we weren't the only one's who thought our toddler would enjoy watching the planes as they ate breakfast. Either way, great idea Papa! Here is Cole sitting in a plane that was for sale. I think it was $112,000. We asked Cole not to touch anything.

If you read our blog, you know I like to post pictures of the crazy outfits Cole wears and the crazy things that Cole does. Saturday morning was no exception. Seriously...so many things wrong with this. #1 - Where are your pants? #2 - Why are your underwear on backwards? #3 - We have sprinklers to do that job! I keep on in my quest to take a decent picture of my kids together. The latest attempt proves I'm no closer than I was the last time I tried. Boo. I love that Sis' head looks twice the size of Cole's here. Geesh...I think Cole needs to eat his Wheaties!

Bad Blogging

2010-06-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

I have fallen behind in blogging lately. I keep forgetting to take pictures and am feeling guilty that Sis will look back on her first year of life and wonder where her photos and memories are. Poor second child, I can totally relate!

I have been in SoCal all week, heading home tonight. It's amazing the days I am at home and think, what I wouldn't give for just a little peace and quiet. Well, I've had 5 days of it and now I want my crazy family back. Life is just more fun with them around.

I've been meaning to post this picture because I just think it's too cute. Cole's teacher, Miss Emily (who we adore!!), is a big Cole fan. Something about our crazy Cole has stolen her heart. She knows how much he loves Elmo (seriously, STILL!) and she really, really, really has worked with Cole on his potty training. He had 1/2 of it down, if you know what I mean. So...she promised him when he got the 2nd 1/2 down she would buy him the biggest Elmo cookie she could find. Well, wouldn't you know...he finally did and looky what she got for him! Sis hit a big milestone this week, of course while I was away. Shawn sent me this picture on my cell phone on Tuesday -- she's cruising! Hopefully I will be in town when she takes her real first steps. Please excuse the messy living room! Today is a big day for my dad, too. He is moving up to Seattle to officially start the prep for his stem cell transplant. The actual transplant date is set for July 7th. Keep the prayers coming please!!

What you missed in May

2010-06-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile (I can hear my husband singing that line as I type it)! I am somewhat in denial that June is here already. Then I saw the weather forecast...110 by early next week. Yep. June is here.

We celebrated both my birthday and Shawn's dad's (Papa) birthday last month. Papa wanted to go to Joe's Crab Shack for his big day...so we went! Cole had calamari for the first time and LOVED it. Here is Cole and his basket of fried food, laughing at Papa, who was sporting a bib for his crab feast.

The next day Shawn had a birthday party for me. A Hawaiian Luau right in our backyard. Here we are in our festive wear.

Sweet K with our old neighbor Sheryl.
I had to post a picture of the cupcakes my girlfriend Rachel made. Before being an event planner...she was a pastry chef. Lucky us! Check out the amazing cupcakes she made for the party. They were delish...thank you Rachel!This past weekend we had a visit from Aunite, Uncle Judd, Lukas and Autumn. This was the first time that all the cousins had been together. We were a little nervous, but it was a total success! Everyone played great and it was so great to all be together. It made us even more excited for a trip to Sunriver this summer.

We piled 3 of the 4 kids into the bath together the first night. We call this, "rub a dub dub, 3 cousins in a tub."
On Sunday the kids and I were baptized. It was special to share such an important event together. I opted for the private baptism for fear of what my children would do in front of the 200 person congregation. Turns out it was a good idea, Cole was talking loudly during the baptism about how he wanted to blow out all of the candles. As they were baptising him with the water he said, "all done?" We weren't able to get many pictures, but finally a family photo where we are all looking at the camera! I didn't say all looking good, just all looking at the camera.
I loved watching the boys play together. Cole is obsessed with Lukas and wanted to do everything he was doing. Here they are watching Nascar. So...off we go into summer. Good bye jeans...see you in November!

They made me a momma!

2010-05-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already mid-May. Seems like it was just Christmas and now we are making plans for Memorial Day weekend and celebrating Mother's Day. I feel like 2010 is flying by and considering the tough rest of the year ahead, that is kind of fine by me. Trying to enjoy the time as it comes, but ready to celebrate 2011 and a clean bill of health for my dad (who may get to go home from the hospital by this weekend!). Anyhoo...

It was a HOT weekend in the Valley of the Sun. On Saturday I took the kids to the park and learned a quick lesson. Just so we are all aware, the black rubber they use on the swings conducts a LOT of heat. Luckily mom always has a lightweight blanket in the stroller and was able to cover it for Cole. He had a ball at the park as always and as always, it was a challenge to get him to leave. Somehow telling him we had to go home for naps wasn't a big draw for him. Hmm...surprising?

Sis is still enjoying the park from the stroller. Thinking it's about time to let her out and enjoy some of the fun, no?
Weekends are usually centered around pool time these days. When do we go swimming? Where do we go swimming? What will we wear swimming? How much longer until we go swimming? These are all Cole questions. I got him new swim goggles and a new floaty ring last week, he was all ready to go swimming, but too bad it wasn't time. Sad little Coley.

Miss K turned 8 months old on Saturday. Trying to get the standard monthly picture, but a new mobile baby makes that kind of difficult. The 8 month shot is an "action" photo. BTW...she started fully crawling on Mother's Day. Funny, because when Cole was a baby he started crawling on Father's Day. Guess they know the perfect gifts to give us.

I put K to bed last night and about 3 minutes later I heard her crying. I looked on the video monitor and was shocked to see her standing up in her crib, holding onto the side looking like she was getting ready to jump the heck out of there. Within 30 minutes my baby girl's crib was transformed into a big girl version...no more cute bumper, no more cute crib skirt and the crib mattress is lowered all the way down. Sad -- growing up too fast!

I thought it would be fun to try and get a picture of the kids together on Mother's Day. Seriously, why is this so hard for me to accomplish? Been trying since K was a baby. Ugh. Best I could do...and somehow Dad ended up in the photo and it's out of focus. Oh well. That's why I pay Kacey to do fab photos for us once a year. ;)

Just had to throw this one in...looks like Cole is keeping watch over his pool. Don't ask about the owl in the background. I think it's supposed to scare birds away or something? Mostly it just scares me.

Like father, like son!

2010-05-07T10:22:00.001-07:00

Cole is becoming such an independent little guy! He wants to help with everything and really wants to do things all on his own. He likes to announce, "I did it all by myself!"

In addition to independence, he also wants to be just like Daddy. Here he is on Saturday morning, shaving just like Daddy!

Between work and time with my dad I was away from the kids for 12 days. Wow -- never been gone that long! I am looking forward to a weekend together and to celebrating Mother's Day with family. It's really heating up down here...supposed to be almost 100 today. Ready or not, here comes summer.

For those following my dad: www.caringbridge.com/visit/billfromhold. We got great news yesterday! They have identified 200 matches for his stem cell transplant and they have been given the official go ahead by insurance to get going with all the preparations. Probably sometime in June he will start the transplant process. One step closer...keep the prayers going please!

A weekend with us!

2010-04-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

As I was downloading photos off the camera I noticed that one could get a pretty good idea of how we spent our weekend in just a few pictures.

Friday night...Guitar Hero for 3. Well, 2 but Cole pretended to play. Future Rock Star in the making!

Saturday morning...after her nap Cole played dress up. Wanting to see what Sis would look like getting ready for Margaritaville.

Sunday morning...snoozing in the BOB after a morning jog with Mom.

Sunday afternoon...exhausted and sleeping in the pool chair, outside, after having too much fun in the pool at Grammy & Papas.

I am sure the kids will have this much fun with Daddy this coming weekend. It's my first trip away from Kenleigh. I am heading to Seattle on Saturday for business and to spend some time with my dad. For those of you following his progress, a nice article was written about him and Marcia in the Vancouver newspaper: http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/apr/18/still-working-as-a-team-fromholds-battle-cancers/

Growing girl!

2010-04-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful weekend in Arizona...someone remind me of these days when I am complaining in August. ;)

Big week for Miss K! She turned 7 months old and officially graduated to her big girl car seat. Mommy and Daddy are sooo happy not to have to lug around that silly infant carrier any more. I am happy that another friend is pregnant so that I can move it along. Here is Sis in her new seat on Saturday morning...trying it out for the perfect fit before installing it in my car.

7 months old...man, can't get this girl to stop smiling now! Love her!

We also enjoyed another fun weekend with pool time. I think Cole really looks ready for some time in Margaritaville. Just another 18 1/2 years my friend...

Shawn and I are headed out for a parents only night. What a treat for us...2 times in the same month. I think this is the most ever since we had children. Off to a Sun's game!

Easter and an Earthquake

2010-04-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend! It's really true what they say, the holidays are so much more magical with kids!

The Easter Bunny came and left goodies for all. Notice K's basket is not quite as full as Cole's. Feeling kind of guilty about that now. Oh well, she probably won't remember.

Wait, she doesn't look too unhappy with her goodies...

We all headed out to church for the 11:30am service. Growing up we always went to church at 8am. Dad always wanted to get to church and back and not lose the whole day. Turns out as I've grown up, I feel the same way as Dad did! The 4 other Easter services on Sunday were during Kenleigh's morning nap, so we took the late shift.

A couple of highlights from church were when Cole stood up on the pew shouting, "I can't see him Mommy, I can't see him." Not sure if he wanted to see God or the Pastor. He also recognized Jesus (although referred to him as Baby Jesus) and told Shawn, "Daddy...Jesus has no shoes."

After church were all outside enjoying the beautiful weather when one of our friends noticed that our pool was looking kind of weird. Our calm, still pool was all of a sudden crashing waves over the side and water was rushing over the edges. We went inside to notice that all of our hanging light fixtures were swaying. We were feeling the earthquake from California! An Arizona first for me...been through 2 earthquakes in WA but never here in AZ!

The Easter Egg hunt was great. We had Cole's friend Grant over and the boys went to town looking for eggs. Cole got a little crazy and each egg he would find he would open it...eat all 5 jelly beans and then move onto the next egg. Here are the boys enjoying their treats!

In the middle of enjoying the fruits of their labors the sprinklers turned on. Cole and Grant decided to have an impromtu running through the sprinklers party. They were drenched but having the time of their lives.

Everyone had too much candy and Cole even woke up on Monday morning, came downstairs in his jammies and his first words were, "Mommy...where's my candy?"

That's my boy.

4 years and 2 kids later...

2010-04-01T19:52:00.001-07:00

Not bad for a couple of sleep deprived parents of a toddler and infant. Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary. We celebrated like any good parents -- at Red Robin! Saturday we will celebrate like grown ups, no french fries allowed. ;)

Happiness is...spring in AZ!

2010-03-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ah...our favorite time of year. The reason we put up with 115 degree summers that last far too long --SPRING!

Most people will tell you that this is the time of year that makes Arizona a great place to live. The weather is awesome, Spring Training is going on, BBQ's are every weekend and lucky for us pool time has begun at the Blubaum's (Shawn's parents) house.

Cole has turned into quite the swimmer! Last summer he loved to be in the water but wouldn't go far in his water wings. This year he is across the pool from me saying, "I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" Good thing swim lessons start again next month.

Here is Mr. Serious, taking a break.
Our bathing beauty! Her first time in the pool and she loved it. The left leg was kicking and moving the whole time.

It was a fun day, but apparently exhausting. Cole fell asleep on the way home from Grammy & Papa's house. We woke him up and he walked in the house. He proceeded to find Kenleigh's Boppy pillow, put it on the ground and curl up and go back to sleep. He was OUT! Eventually we carried him up to bed.

Here is our Easter Lilly all ready for Sunday!

Cole told me on the way to school today, "I go to church on Sunday and get Jelly Beans." Hey, whatever it takes to get him to love church.

Dear Fletcher,

2010-03-16T12:17:00.001-07:00

Fletch,
I am writing you this letter to let you know that you need to get well! People who have never met you love to hear Fletch stories. Life just wouldn't be the same without you! You are at the doctor and we are waiting to hear how you are doing. We are praying that you get well and we get to enjoy another 10 years with you as part of our family.

We aren't ready to say goodbye just yet...you and Kenleigh just became friends!
We love you Fletch and are praying you get well.

xoxo

Daddy, please come home!

2010-03-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

We are counting down the minutes until daddy arrives home. Shawn has been in LA for the past 5 days watching hours of basketball at the Pac-10 tournament. At least the Huskies won the tournament (no, I am still a Cougar fan...just makes for a happier Daddy!). I am looking forward to a 2nd set of hands around here again. ;)

Last weekend the kids and I went to the Railroad park with our friends Rachel and Haley. Miss Haley is about 6 months younger than Cole and these 2 are cute friends. The park has all kinds of slides and climbing areas, a carousel and a train the kids can ride. We had a great time enjoying the sun!

I know most mom's wouldn't post this pic on their blog...but I kind of like it. Finally Kenleigh is messing with Cole. It's usually the other way around!

Kenleigh celebrated her 6 month birthday on Monday! Friday I had her check up and the stats are in:

Weight: 17lb 14oz -- 80th %

Height: 26 1/2" -- 80th %

She's slowing down...but is as least as big as she is tall! A few days ago she really discovered her voice. Painful at times because it can be a loud happy screech. Adorable mostly because she is figuring out sounds and says ma-ma-ma-ma and ba-ba-ba-ba, as sweet potatoes fall from her mouth.

6 month photo...Captain Smiley!

Kenleigh is officially a tummy sleeper, just like her brother, just like her mommy, just like her daddy. It's a Blubaum thing! She is sitting up and drooling like crazy. I keep thinking we are going to wake up to teeth soon, but to be honest I am fine waiting. I am still nervous about the personal damage she might do to me once she gets teeth, if you know what I mean.

This big guy here has woken up dry in the morning all week AND staying dry most of the day. SO proud! If you come use the bathroom in our house and Cole knows...he'll tell you that you TOO can have "2 Elmo stickers if you go poo poo in the toilet."

Can you tell he needs a haircut? This was me giving him a comb-over on Friday morning before school!

We're still here...

2010-03-11T19:20:00.001-08:00

My hope is to update the blog this weekend...but in the meantime, I thought I'd post that we are still here...barely!

First of all thank you to everyone that has called, emailed, texted and prayed for my dad. I am happy to report that he is feeling stronger each day...but still could have a battle ahead of him. You can keep up on his progress and Marcia's as well at http://www.charleswfromhold.blogspot.com/.

I owe a HUGE thank you to Amy for all her help during our emergency visit to Olympia a couple of weeks ago. There aren't many people in your life that you can call on, with just a few hours notice, and ask them to drop everything to help you. I am so thankful that I have friends that I can count on and know that I would do the same for them. Thank you Amy -- you were my angel that week (K misses you)!

Kenleigh turned 6 months on Monday...wow, where does the time go? She has her 6mo check up tomorrow, so I will update with her latest stats. You can count on her to be big and bigger. She's not slowing down yet!

With all the difficult things we are dealing with right now, a picture like this is in order. She just makes me smile...and I hope she makes you smile too. :)

More this weekend!

5 months, Kristi, Peas and a Hobo!

2010-02-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

We just wrapped up the 3-day weekend. Why is it when you have small children long weekends actually feel long? I remember before I had kids they just flew by...not so much these days! :)

We had a great weekend with a visit from Kristi Kendall! Kristi and I met in college during an HRA class. We walked home together that day and by the time we were half way across campus we were ready to move to Boston together! Although neither of us never moved to Boston we have stayed the best of friends through many moves and life changes. Kristi was one of my bridesmaids and will forever be one of my favorite people. Anyone who knows her knows she is quick to put a smile on your face. I miss you Kristi!

Last week we also celebrated Miss Kenleigh turning 5 months old! She is up to 17lb and has started eating peas. She likes them (no surprise I am sure)!

5 month photo - still happy!

I thought it was funny that when we got out the peas to feed Kenleigh, Cole decided he also needed peas. Unfortunately we were out of peas, so he got corn. Later all that corn you see was on the table and floor. Awesome.

I had to throw this one in to add to the funny file of Cole's life. The outfit's he puts together sometimes scare me. This was Monday morning, blowing bubbles in: Handy Manny hat, Elmo holiday jammies and Daddy's sneakers. Looked like a homeless man to me!

It's not a party, until...

2010-02-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Seriously, these kids make me laugh. Thank goodness for potty training and Cole wearing underpants or this picture never would have been. Here are the kids on Super Bowl Sunday wearing "hats!"

Cole really is a great big brother. He watches closely and learns quickly. Here he is carrying his Elmo from Grandma G in the Bjorn!

The kids were both in brown and grey stripes on Sunday so I thought it would be a great photo opp. Then I remembered it's impossible to get a good pictures of 2 kids ages 2 and 5 months. Here is my attempt!

Saturday at the park!

2010-02-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

Seems that Cole gets all the action these days! Soon Kenleigh will get to enjoy the park from outside the confines of the jogging stroller! Love the kids in their weekend wear...both are wearing Puma track suits!

While Daddy's away...

2010-02-02T11:07:00.001-08:00

Shawn is out of town in Tucson for a project interview, so it was just me and the kids last night. I am a little out of practice with Cole's bathtime/bedtime routine as ever since Kenleigh was born we divide and conquer. Obviously I get Kenleigh duty since I am the only one that can feed her. So...last night I started the bath for Cole, he requested Elmo bubbles, so I followed orders and might have put in just a tad too much. He LOVED it!

We tried cereal with Kenleigh a few weeks ago and she just didn't get it. Deciding it was too early and she wasn't ready we took a few weeks off. Tried it again on Sunday and she digs it! She ate it all up and was actually shoving my hand with the spoon in her mouth. Just wait until she gets "real" food...!

The update on Kenleigh's sleep (this is more for my memory as I haven't kept baby books for either kid), she is now doing a 10 hour stretch. She is up to eat at 10 hours and then back down for another 3 hours. Thank you K...mommy loves you!

Can't believe our big girl will be 5 months old next week. She was at the doctor yesterday and weighs 16lb 14.5oz. She is still so fat and happy and gets attention everywhere she goes. People just cannot resist her big cheeks. So different than skinny little Cole! She is a busy gal getting ready to roll over from back to front. She mastered front to back over Christmas. She can sit up on her own with her hands holding her up (tripod) for a few minutes and is really starting to dig some of her toys. Loving this stage and looking forward to more milestones with her.

Cole continues to be hilarious saying things we just can't believe. The other day I was feeding Kenleigh and he came up and pointed and said, "Mommy's milk?" I said, yes...to which he replied, "that's Spicy!" He's a very polite little boy saying good bye to Daddy's truck each morning and has recently started saying goodby to the Christmas Tree as well, which is being stored in the garage. He still asks about Santa and Snowman at least 3 times a week. For those that are curious...Santa is on vacation and Snowman melted. My sister thinks it's cruel that I just didn't say Snowman was on vacation too.

You make me smile...

2010-01-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

Finally! Who would have known that food was all it would take to get this girl to smile on camera. Yesterday was the maiden voyage with rice cereal. Yes, a little early I know...but I am convinced this 16lb big baby girl is hungry. I am pulling out all the stops in an attempt to get her to sleep through the night. I forgot that the first time you try and feed them cereal they really don't know what to do with it. Most of it dribbled down her chin and was pushed out by her tongue. We will try again tonight!Oh...and she didn't sleep through the night, but she did an 8 hour stretch. Thank you Kenleigh...next stop, 10 hours please!

Food makes Cole happy too, especially when it's food from Red Robin. His latest request...french fries and ketchup. Must not be my kid...ranch only please.

Why so serious?

2010-01-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time talking about what a fat happy smiling baby Kenleigh is. Now...if I could just take a picture that proves it! My camera just doesn't take pictures fast enough for me to prove the demeanor of this baby is delightful! The smiles and laughter that come out of her bring a smile to anyones face that is around her. Today at the doctor she even smiled through 3 of her 4 shots. I couldn't believe it...Cole would and still does cry just seeing the needle. They are so different!

So...today is Kenleigh's 4 month birthday. Wow, hard to believe 1/3 of her first year is over. I have spent most of the past 4 months wishing her to get through the baby-baby stage quickly. There are so many things about the beginning stage that are difficult. Now I am starting to look at her and realizing how fast it's all going and knowing I am not going to have another baby I know I need to start savoring every moment.

Here are the 4 months stats:

Height: 25 1/4" (90 percentile)

Weight: 16lb (90 percentile)

Head: 16" (50 percentile)

It's interesting that Cole at 4 months was 15lb 7oz and 25 3/4" and those were both 50 percentile for a boy. Amazing how different the charts are for boy/girl!

I loved this picture, thinking it sums up how life will be between brother and sister. Years will be spent with Kenleigh yapping away at Cole and he will be ignoring her. HA!

Santa's on vacation!

2009-12-29T08:14:00.001-08:00

Whew! We survived. It was a long weekend for many reasons, but one that was still full of fun and joy. Cole keeps asking about Santa and we have told him that he is on vacation, sipping margaritas, until next November. I've slowly been trying to put away the Christmas books, Elmo Christmas DVD, Santa cups, etc. to make Santa not be the first thing on Cole's mind when he wakes up. So far, not doing so good...he's still asking!

Festivities started at 3pm on Thursday heading to the "Children's" service at church. Hmm...nothing really "children-y" about it, other than they handed out cute necklaces and goodie bags to the kids. It was still over an hour long, half of which I spent in the cry room. Cole figured out if he said "I do potty" he could leave the sanctuary and Daddy would take him to the bathroom where he would flush the toilets over and over, which he enjoyed. So...he said, "I do potty" several time, very loud throughout the service. Joy to the World!

Kenleigh all dressed up in her little velour dress for church. At least one of us looks happy it's Christmas Eve?

Before Cole went to bed he put out his cookies for Santa, quite a few cookies! He was so stinkin' happy on Christmas morning to see that Santa ate nearly ALL the cookies and drank half the milk.

We don't have a chimney, but he still left a haul at our house!

Elmo was the present of the year. If it comes in Elmo we now have it...a talking Elmo, stuffed Elmo, a rolling Elmo backpack, Elmo sheets, Elmo Potty Books, etc. Cole will tell anyone that will listen that Santa came, brought presents and the presents were Elmo. Don't worry Auntie, he liked the Cars stuff, too. :)

Here is Sis hanging out in her holiday best. She had just finished rolling over...SURPRISE!

Trust me, she's celebrating on the inside...

As much as I love the holidays, now that they are over we are moving on. Up next...Valentine's Day!

Making memories...

2009-12-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

I love traditions, especially around the holidays. Even though I can't be with my family (parents, sister, etc) on Christmas, I still love to celebrate our traditions. Seems like those revolve around food! Chex mix, lemon bars, meatballs, lefsa and Cougar Gold cheese...all important components of Christmas Eve around here.

So...yesterday we made the Chex mix and lemon bars. Lucky me I had a super great helper! Only once did he touch the pan and say "HOT!" He was right, it was hot and I probably shouldn't have let him stir in the hot pan. But...for the sake of tradition...

I had the kids in their holiday shirts yesterday and thought it would be cute to get a picture of them. Wow, didn't realize how impossible that would be. This is as close as I could get to both looking (somewhat) at the camera. Kenleigh looks like a wax figure! Also note the Snoopy sock on Cole's hand. He LOVES to wear socks on his hands. The Snoopy is a current fav since we lost 1 sock, so he can't wear them on his feet anymore. They now make a perfect fit for his hand.

Sis was reading books with Grammy while sitting in her Bumbo. Oh, I stopped a potential disaster yesterday. I looked up and Cole had stripped off his pants and his pull up and was getting ready to sit in the Bumbo thinking it was a potty seat. YIKES! Crisis averted.

Another great joy with kids at the holidays are the lovely crafts they make a school and bring home to pass off as "presents." Last year we got an snowflake ornament that Cole decorated with his picture in it. It is hanging on the tree this year and Cole walks up to it and says "Hole see Hole!" This means Cole wants to see and hold the picture of Cole. Check out this years treasure...hmm...?

Tonight is church, dinner and finishing Santa's work. The load of presents he is leaving at our house this year is overwhelming. The kids are getting spoiled, no doubt. Tonight at 5:30pm Santa is calling our house. I found a website that sends you a personalized call from Santa. I can hardly wait to see the look on Cole's face...!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!

Grandpa is coming to town...

2009-12-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a great weekend with Grandpa Fromhold in town. What a joy to watch Cole and Grandpa play and get ready for the holidays!

The fun started on Saturday morning when they made Christmas cookies. Cole was in charge of cutting out the cookies and sometimes got a little aggressive with the santa cookie cutter. In the end, the cookies turned out not half bad for 2 guys...ages 2 and 67! :)

I have no pictures to prove we went to ZooLights, but trust me...we went. Us and 2000 of our closest friends in the Valley of the Sun. I am not joking when I say we walked nearly a mile...just to get from our car to the zoo. Then walked the entire zoo admiring the lights. The kids had fun and both zonked out in the car. That was the latest Kenleigh had ever been up. She normally is snoozeville by 7pm!

Sunday morning we had Grandpa Pancakes. My dad's pancakes are a favorite childhood memory. Girlfriends that stayed the night would wake in morning to pancakes specially made in the shape of their initials and bunnies and more. Grandpa made Cole special pancakes shaped like Christmas tree's, wreath's and the ever famous bunnies (no molds used!). Mom and Dad ate standard model pancakes...YUM!

We had a great visit with Grandpa and miss him already. When I was getting Cole dressed for school yesterday he said, "Cole see Grandpa?" Sad...

Also...we are ready to put out our cookies for Santa! I painted this plate last week at a paint your own pottery place. Now, if we can just restrain ourselves from eating ALL the cookies before Thursday night so there are some left for Santa...

Please note...we really do have a baby girl named Kenleigh. She seems to always be sleeping when I have the camera out. I promise to get pictures of her on Christmas and prove that she is a happy member of our family! :)

It's almost Christmas!!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

We have had some festive activities this week. The fun started on Tuesday when we met our friends Sean, Rachel and Haley for dinner and snow watching. We took Cole to see it snow last year and he loved it...good news it was a hit again this year! When you live in Arizona it only snows for 10 minutes per night, from 7:00pm-7:10pm and you don't need snow boots, thank you Tempe Marketplace!

Before the snow we had dinner. While mom's and dad's enjoyed wine, beer and catching up...Cole and Haley decided to feed each other broccoli. Couldn't have been cuter! These two have been hanging out since Haley was 6 months old and they are now starting to really interact. They've been to the Children's Museum, the Zoo, Birthday parties...but turns out we just needed to give them broccoli to get them to play!

Wednesday the entire Blubaum clan (Grammy and Papa, too!) packed up and went to Cole's school for the Holiday Concert. Cole had been practicing his songs and was prepared to perform Jingle Bells, Let it Snow and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Wouldn't you know when his big moment came he just smiled and waved, but never opened his mouth and sang one word. Huh? Gotta love 2 year olds! I still consider it a success since my kid wasn't one of the ones that came screaming and crying to mom as soon as they saw her. Cole actually stayed "on stage" the entire time. Good job Cole! The best was when we got in the car, he sang all of Jingle Bells. I told him it was a little late to try and get an applause. Look how cute they dressed up the kids for the performance!

Grandpa Fromhold arrives today and we plan on taking the kids to Zoo Lights and celebrating our own Christmas while he is here. Hard to believe Christmas is already a week away!

I don't have any new pictures of Kenleigh to post, but she is as fat and happy as ever! She is the biggest smiler, giggler and just a darn happy little girl. She loves her time with Grammy but I can tell she misses mommy. That is why she's getting up in the middle of the night, right? To see me? ;)

Mom's on the town!

2009-12-11T07:45:00.001-08:00

Last weekend while Shawn was in Seattle, the kids and enjoyed an Auntie Weekend! My sister came (sans kids) and spend the weekend with us -- what a treat!

The bigger treat was that Grammy watched the kids on Saturday night while Kristie and I went out for dinner and a movie. We couldn't remember the last time we went somewhere with no husbands and no kids...had to have been at least 4 years. We treated ourselves to another viewing (her 3rd, my 2nd) of New Moon. Really, a girl can't see Jacob Black shirtless too many times. ;)

3 month twins!

2009-12-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend Karla found this picture of Autumn (taken on her 3 month birthday) on my blog and was entertained by how much Autumn and Kenleigh looked alike (think it's just the big cheeks). So...I decided on Kenleigh's 3 month birthday I would dress her in the same outfit and see how much these girls really look alike. Again, I think they are both just BIG baby girls!!

Kenleigh was at the doctor last week and is already weighing in at 14lb 6oz. Holy big baby....

Happy 3 month birthday sis!

Turkey Day

2009-12-01T07:56:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving fun started on Tuesday with a "Thanksgiving Feast" at Phoenix Children's Academy where Cole goes to school. Shawn and I both joined Cole for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the fixin's! We were so excited to be able to eat lunch with him and his little friends. He's only been going to his new school for about 2 months, so we are still getting to know all the other kids, etc.

When we showed up I had to giggle that eating lunch with the kids meant eating at the kids table. We actually sat at chairs that were about 6" off the ground and were barely big enough for 1 butt cheek. What a riot! All the kids and parents sat around the tables passing food and enjoying the company. Then there was my kid, shouting through the whole lunch "MORE CORN, MORE CORN!" You can see from his plate that he had plenty of corn, but he wasn't going to be happy until all of the corn was his. He also loved eating the "puntin hie."

Later that day Cole entertained us by putting on my shoes and walking through the house. Shawn's wasn't amused as I was...

I feel like I need to comment on the fact that my child never has pants on in any pictures. I didn't realize what a trend this was until I looked back at the blog posts. I think this must be a function of potty training for him. He is constantly pulling off his pull up to go "potty toilet" and in order to go potty the pants and pull up must both be pulled off entirely. Cole can't have them around the ankles while he goes. Thus we end up with no pants quite often. Most the time he just goes "potty toilet" so he can get an M&M.

On Thanksgiving day Shawns parents came over for our own feast. Here is Kenleigh enjoying her first Thanksgiving. I squeezed her into this 3 month outfit and assured her she would never have to wear it again. She's so serious...and so bald!

Wait...here she is smiling! CHEEKS! :)
We taught Cole the joys of putting olives on your fingers. He LOVES olives and ate almost the whole can. Excuse his wet shirt, he had just dumped a glass of water down his shirt. He's experimenting with using a big boy cup...not going so well as you can see.
Now that Thanksgiving is over, you can see "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" here at the Blubaum's!

You have to love the holidays in Arizona. Where else can you go swimming the day after Thanksgiving? After 12 wonderful weeks at home with my kiddos, I am back to work. Kenleigh is going to be spending her days with her Grammy. Lucky gal...they seem to be getting along nicely...

What, isn't this how everyone spends Sunday morning?

2009-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

Elmo jammies with no pants...a pull up...Elmo slippers and a bike helmet...riding his bike in the garage. Awesome.

Later in the day he was spotted wearing his Seahawks t-shirt, no pants (what is with no pants!?!) and his dad's giant sneakers...mowing the lawn.

Ahh...life when you are 2!

So...it's a little early...

2009-11-15T16:13:00.001-08:00

I love Christmas. I start celebrating it on November 1st. I don't care what others say...I just love Christmas.

So, today I was shopping with my mother in law looking for the Blubaum Family Christmas Tree. I finally convinced Shawn (after 5 years!) to get an artificial tree. It goes against everything I was raised to believe, but I have become a fake tree lover and am thrilled to finally purchase my very own. I love the ease that in a moment, POOF, it can be Christmas in my house...then magically on December 27th or 28th, when I am over Christmas, with one swoop it can be gone. No cleaning up needles, or waiting for the Boy Scouts to come pick up the tree. I am so excited!

Anyways...while shopping for our tree I stumbled upon these trees. LOVE THEM! Growing up Shawn always had his own tree in his room, so it was important to him that the kids have them too. Perfect blue and pink for my little boy and baby girl.

Sure, we haven't even purchased our turkey for Thanksgiving...but the kids are rockin' their trees. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

The BIG update

2009-11-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since our last post...Cole turned 2, Kenleigh turned 2 months and the kids had a visit with their Great Grandma!

On November 3rd we had the official celebration of Cole's 2nd birthday. To kick off his birthday right, Cole hit a major milestone. He went #1 and #2 in the toilet at school. Woo hoo! Potty training has begun. I never thought I could do so much potty talk! Cole is doing great...we have a long road ahead of us but we are so happy he's starting so soon!

He opened his presents when he got home from school and loved his bike! He loved his helmet almost more than the bike. He tried to wear it to dinner!

We celebrated his birthday at Red Robin, just like we celebrated his 1st birthday. Cole loves the food, the balloons and the Robin himself. Once again he didn't eat his birthday sundae...oh well, we all took care of that for him!

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from Great Grandma Jay (Shawn's Grandma). She came in from California to stay with Al & Virginia. It was so wonderful to spend time with her and Kenleigh just loved her! Smiles, smiles and more smiles.

On Sunday Miss Kenleigh turned 2 months old! This is where the blog post gets it's title...we have ourselves one big baby! Here are the 2 month stats:

Weight: 13lb 6.5oz (97th percentile)

Height 23" (75th percentile)

Here is a picture to prove just how big she is getting...CHEEKS!!!

Elmo's World!

2009-11-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

One thing is for certain...our Coley loves his Elmo. This weekend we celebrated Halloween and Cole's birthday Elmo style!

Saturday we picked up Grandpa and Nana at the airport for a visit. This was the first time they met little Kenleigh and she took to them both right away. She enjoyed snuggle time with both and I got one picture of Grandpa with his girl!

Halloween night was crazy but fun. Everything happened at once...between getting the baby in the bath, fed and put to bed, making dinner, getting Cole dressed in costume and on his way AND dealing with the doorbell ringing with Trick or Treaters...I was a little stressed! Daddy took Cole out on his first Trick or Treating adventure and the report was great! He said "Trick or Treat" at every house AND said "thank you" to everyone after they gave him candy. Wow, an Elmo with great manners...he was a total hit with the neighbors! They hit all the houses on our street and then called it a night. Good news is he kept the costume on the entire time, SUCCESS! We are holding onto the Elmo costume, just in case little Kenleigh ends up loving the red furry monster, too.Sunday morning we raced around to get ready for Cole's 2nd Birthday Party. Elmo was the star of Sunday as well. This fantastic cake was made by my girlfriend Rachel -- she did a great job! The kids spent a lot of time playing in Cole's new sandbox (thank you Auntie) and running around outside enjoying the sun. Nice to have on shorts on November 1st! Cole wasn't into blowing out his candle...scared of the flame I guess. Good news is he was into the cake! Kenleigh enjoyed the party, too!

He is also very into opening presents. We let him open a few last night, he's really got the hang of ripping open the paper. He got very upset when we wouldn't let him open more presents. Even this morning he kept saying "more presents, more presents." Ugh!

I also thought it was funny that on Sunday morning around 4:15am he woke up and was in his room crying (not the funny part). He was of course asking for Mama, but at one point through his tears also said, "candy" he then fell back asleep. Gotta hand it to a kid who knows what he wants!

More pictures after Tuesday's birthday festivities!

Puntin Patch!

2009-10-27T19:51:00.001-07:00

We no longer call them pumpkins...in our house they are puntins. The excitement that puntins bring Cole is amazing!

So...because of his love, we packed up and headed down to the Pumpkin Patch on Friday afternoon. Schnepf Farms is about 30 minutes from our house and very close to Shawn's current jobsite, so a perfect place for us to meet for some family fun.

This was our first experience of letting Cole run free in public. To those of you who know Cole, you know that letting him be free is a risk, always a risk. We packed the Bjorn for Kenleigh and planned to put Cole in the single stroller that was in the back of the Tahoe. But...when we arrived at the patch we realized it was too warm and too sunny for a 6 week old baby, so Kenleigh got the shaded stroller and Cole ran free. He did surprisingly well and only had to be chased a few times.

Cole got the chance to climb on hay, ride the carousel, go to the petting zoo and ride the train. He and mommy rode on a carnival ride as well...I was more scared than he was by how high up the ride went!

I promise that Kenleigh really was with us at the Puntin Patch...she just stayed cozied up in her stroller the whole time. This is when Cole started to say, "Hole push, Hole push..."

We are celebrating Cole's 2nd birthday this Sunday with some friends and family. Grandpa Fromhold and Nana are even coming to town. We are having a Sesame Street party. Really, let's face it Elmo is his favorite, but I decided to try and mix it up and invite Big Bird and Cookie Monster as well.

I also wanted to include that Kenleigh and I went to have lunch with my girlfriend Karla last week. Karla and her husband Gary just moved into a new house that we hadn't seen. It is gorgeous, love it Karla!! Here is how Kenleigh enjoyed our visit to the Renne's house while Karla and I caught up.

Sick day...

2009-10-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Cole woke up this morning not feeling well...so we had to call in sick to daycare. I wish that when I called in sick to work that I had this much fun in a day. Sick little ones are funny...going from exhausted and clingy to energetic and playful.

Here is how Cole spent his sick day:

In the morning he got out early and mowed the lawn (in his jammies), gotta beat the heat you know.

In the afternoon Grammy came over and we decorated the house for Halloween. Cole was a big helper and loved the plastic spiders that go with the spider webs. He kept saying, "Spider...Ouch!" I guess he thought the plastic spiders were going to bite him?

We ended the afternoon with a trip to the park to enjoy the slide. Here is Cole sliding down!

Oh, and here is how Kenleigh enjoyed the park...from inside the Chariot! :)

2 years and 1 month!

2009-10-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Last week we did the simultaneous pediatrician appointments. This is good idea in theory, but actually trying to manage 2 children, in a small space, while shots are being given was NOT easy. I think next time I will take them each on their own.

The best part about the 2 year and 1 month check up is that Cole's 2 year was a month early and Kenleigh's 1 month was a week late. Oh well...we are reporting the stats as though there were taken on the right dates:

COLE

Weight: 27lbs -- 25th percentile

Height: 34" -- 50th percentile

KENLEIGH

Weight: 10lb 12oz -- 90th percentile

Height: 22" -- 75th percentile

Head: 15" -- 75th percentile

We couldn't believe when Kenleigh got on the scale that she weighed that much. Just 1 week prior she weighed 9lb 15oz. Wow, guess the feedings are going well. I think it's all the candy corn I was eating...passing through the milk. HA! Funny that Cole was never in much more than the 50th percentile on height or weight...looks like Kenleigh is going to be a "plus size" baby! The other funny is that Cole has gained less than 2lb since his 18month check up. Seriously, the kid eats non-stop. Wish he could pass his metabolism onto Shawn and I!

Here is a picture to demonstrate how big she is getting...she's got mommy's cheeks! :)

Just for fun here is a picture to demonstrate Cole's craziness. He has decided that he really loves the baby swing. I think he trys to get in it more NOW than he did when he was a baby and actually fit the weight requirements. He gets himself in and then starts shouting, "stuck...stuck!"
Here are the kiddos together tonight. Funny, Cole seems like he's having so much more fun than Kenleigh. Hmm...

Family Weekend

2009-10-12T09:24:00.001-07:00

This weekend was our first as a family of 4, on our own. We have had visitors since Kenleigh's birth and then spent last weekend in the hospital. We discovered that in fact it is even harder to leave the house or get anything done with 2 kids and also were reminded that sometimes it's not so bad to just be house bound and enjoy family time.

Since Cole is turning 2 in less than a month and we have yet to potty train him, we decided it was time to start. He is very much into sitting on the toilet and telling us he is going potty. This is really just a ploy to be able to flush the toilet, his favorite part. He got an Elmo Potty Time DVD from his Grammy so we are working it and I am sure sometime before 2011 he'll be potty trained. :)

I had to post this picture of Kenleigh because it just makes me laugh. What a "mug shot" picture this is! She's doing really well...trying to get herself back into the routine of being home, etc. She's started smiling which is just adorable. She giggled in her sleep the other day...but I figure that one was probably just gas.

Here are the kids this morning all strapped in and ready for our morning workout. This is the new mode of transportation to get Cole to school. It's also mommy's "lose the baby weight" plan. The most awesome part was when I got to his school and realized that the big double jogger didn't fit through the door of his school! They are really going to love me around there...

Wow, that was scary!

2009-10-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I always said I thought having a teenage girl would give me gray hairs...little did I know it would start when my girl was only 3 weeks old!

We returned home tonight after a 4 night stay in the hospital. I put a healthy, happy baby to bed on Friday night and when she woke up at 2am to eat, she was very warm with a fever of nearly 102 degrees. After a quick phone call to the pediatrician we packed up and reported to the ER by 3am. I won't go into detail about all the tests our little one had to endure, but you can imagine they do not take any chances with a high fever in a baby so young.

By 7am Kenleigh was hooked up to an IV, on antibiotics and we were admitted into the very same hospital we brought her home from just 20 days earlier. The tests and cultures took a few days to grow and give results and in the meantime she was still spiking very high temps. By yesterday morning we knew that she was fighting a staph infection but waiting to hear on the strain of the virus to know what specific antibiotics she would need to be changed to.

She had a small spot under her right arm that we will never know how she got, a scratch, a bug bite, etc...but either way, a staph infection developed there and made our little one pretty sick.

We were discharged from the hospital tonight around 7pm and are back home as a family of 4 again. Cole was pretty happy to see us walk in the door with his baby sister and he poked at her right away trying to get her to open her eyes. Typical Cole!!

Kenleigh is responding well to the antibiotics and will stay on them for the next 4 days. We are so thankful for everyone's calls, prayers and well wishes. It was a scary couple of days, but she appears to be on the mend and we are so happy to have her home again.

Here is a picture of her in her bouncer in the hospital...you can see her IV, so sad!!

On a side note, she was weighed everyday and our little piggy is up to 10lb! So much for the newborn sized clothes. We moved onto size 1 diapers...she's growin!

Do I look any bigger?

2009-09-24T12:44:00.001-07:00

Somehow my 8lb 6oz baby girl is just the ittiest bittiest little thing. I always say I cannot imagine what people with 6lb babies do! Either way...Kenleigh is now 2 weeks old. I found it comical that on her 1 week birthday I took this picture...

Then yesterday, on her 2 week birthday I took this picture...

Should I be embarassed that she is wearing the exact same outfit and in the exact same pose? The outfit is a result of the fact that she is too little to fit into any of her clothes! Luckily I had about 4 Newborn size outfits and we have them on a rotation. She'll plump up soon I am sure and her fabulous wardrobe awaits...!

Seriously, a wetness indicator?

2009-09-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Have to post this really quick as I am dying to know if I am the only mom out there that missed this feature. All new mom's love the Pampers Swaddler diapers, they are so soft, not to mention have that new baby scent that you just love. While in the hospital having Kenleigh I learned of another reason to love the Pampers Swaddlers. It's called the Wetness Indicator.

Apparently there is a yellow stripe down the middle of the diaper that turns green when it is wet and needs to be changed. The only reason I learned about the indicator was when a nurse was in our room and said, oh looks like she's wet. We looked at the woman like, really? How do you know that? She then told us about the green stripe. My mouth literally fell open...I am not a first time mom and yet I was clueless on this fantastic feature of the Swaddlers.

So...when we got home I actually read the package that the diapers come in and sure enough, they boast the feature of the Wetness Indicator right on the package. Who'd have thought? Curious if I was the only clueless one out there, or if by chance this is a new feature of the diapers?

Together at last...together forever!

2009-09-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

This picture says it better than I ever could. I am starting to feel the love between them! It took a couple of days, but Cole is really starting to warm up to the idea of Kenleigh sticking around. He wants to help with everything for the baby, he loves having her in the car next to him and when we drop him off at school in the mornings looks over at her and says "bye baby!" It's pretty cute!

Life with 2 kids is off to a good start. We've had extra hands this week with Grandma Grentzer in town. She leaves on Saturday and Auntie and Autumn arrive on Tuesday for a 12 day visit. I couldn't do this without family help and am so thankful for them.

Here are the highlights of yesterday -- for Kenleigh time in the bouncy chair (loves it like her brother did!) and for Cole bathtime...both kids look happy to me! The Blubaum's just might survive all this madness after all...

Kenleigh Ryan Blubaum has arrived!

2009-09-11T21:09:00.001-07:00

We are proud to announce the arrival of Miss Kenleigh Ryan Blubaum. Kenleigh joined us on Tuesday, September 8th at 7:31am. She weighed in at 8lb 6oz and was 20 1/2" long. Not bad for a baby that was still a week away from her actual due date!

Having her birthday scheduled was certainly a much different experience than we had with Cole. No laboring for 40 hours, exhausted going into surgery. Instead Shawn and I were up at 3:30am...arrived at the hospital at 5:00am and had our beautiful baby girl just a couple of hours later. We looked like we were moving into the hospital when we arrived, suitcases, laptop, iPods, etc. We had a plan to be prepared for our 4 day stay this time!

Kenleigh is a wonderful baby so far. She is a champ eater and follows her feedings with long sleep, of course. She has steel blue eyes that melt your heart and we spend hours trying to determine if she looks like Shawn, me or Cole. So far we have no idea! She's got dark hair, but only on the sides and back. Nothing much on top, which is good for some giggles. We say she got her "hair" from her daddy! :)

A few of our friends have had the chance to meet Kenleigh and we look forward to introducing everyone else to her very soon!

We got home from the hospital this afternoon and were reunited with Cole as a new family of 4. He was not allowed to come visit us in the hospital because of concerns about the swine flu. No children under the age of 12 were allowed as visitors. We missed him terribly, but did enjoy the time to focus completely on Kenleigh.

Tomorrow I hope to get some pictures of brother and sister. Cole is fighting a bad cold and was not really into the idea of having a new sister this afternoon. He attempted to poke at her head and put his cars in her crib. We will be working on gentle hugs and kisses once he is feeling better!

So we are all home and doing great. It's a wonderful feeling to have our family complete, we feel so blessed and know how lucky we are. We will post more pictures later this weekend as the action unfolds. Let life with 2 kids begin................

...and so the college football season begins...

2009-09-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

I try and deny all year that it will happen, but inevitably it always comes...the start of the football season. Don't get me wrong, I can enjoy a college football game with the best of them. The problem is I married the world's biggest football fan. I mean wears the jersey, puts his kid in the jersey, hangs the flag biggest football fan. I appreciate his love of the game, it just makes the season feel so much longer for me.

So...the Huskies play today and of course the Blubaum boy's are sporting their jerseys and the flag is flying high on Goldfinch Way. Even the neighbor commented this morning when Shawn went out to hang it. We were having a huge thunder and rain storm but the neighbor shouted from across the street that he was impressed with Shawn's committment, hanging the flag rain or shine!

Forgive me that I am not wearing Cougar gear to support them today. I am 3 days from delivery and lucky that I have anything that actually fits, let alone trying to find something crimson to wear.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

The final countdown...

2009-08-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have been a very bad blogger this summer! I can't believe I haven't posted an update since July...and next week it is September. I couldn't go on record having not blogged at all in August...so I'll try to make this one short and sweet.

All is well in Arizona! We are on the final countdown to baby sister's arrival...2 weeks from today. I just can't believe she's so close to being here. We sit and think about how our life is going to be different once she's here, but I think really nothing can prepare us to return to sleepless nights, baby contraptions filling our house and itty bitty clothes and diapers. At least the garage will finally look emtpy, once the swing, bouncer, Bumbo, activity center, highchair, etc. all move into the house. :)

The big boy room/bed transition was a success and I am happy to say that Cole officially loves his room. From time to time he does say "baby room?" and wants to go into baby sisters's room to have his diaper changed, etc. He likes to pull out all the baby toys from her closet and many of them he recognizes from when he was a baby. He then says, "No! Coles!" and then he takes the toys to his room. Ahhh...sharing at it's finest.

Here is a picture of her room, starting to come together. There are still quite a few things left to do...but it's a start!

I had a special treat a couple of weeks ago when some girlfriends flew in for a girls weekend and while they were here hosted a baby shower for me and baby sister. We had such a fun weekend and I feel so lucky that after all these years these gals are still my closest friends. It certainly was not a "wild" weekend...3 pregnant ladies and 1 nursing mom made for a quiet version of our normal girl's weekends.

Starting this weekend we will have family in town non-stop until October 4th. My sister and Autumn come this weekend and then my dad and his wife arrive, staying for a week. They are graciously taking care of Cole while Shawn and I are at the hospital. Then my mom is coming to stay for a week and then my sister returns for a 2 week visit. We're so excited to share the first few weeks of baby sister's life with my family.

Also exciting is Shawn's parents move! For those of you that don't know, they are coming to live full time in Arizona. The movers are packing them up today and we anticipate they will be AZ residents by this weekend. My mother-in-law Virginia will be taking care of baby sister full time when I return to work in December.

I think that is about it for updates! I will take pictures this weekend when Auntie and Cousin Autumn are in town and hopefully update the blog one more time in August!

I'm a big kid now!

2009-07-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

It was another big weekend for Coley. He officially has his own big boy room! Saturday's mission was to get him all set up and dad got it done, just in time. I think he wrapped up about 7:30pm, when we put Cole in the bath and started our new nightime routine in the new room!

So far Cole seems to like his new room. He is still waking up from time to time and getting upset that no one else is in there with him, but I assume that will pass as he starts to feel more safe in his new surroundings. I try to remind him that he has actually slept alone his entire life, so this really should be no change.

His new bed has a trundle which should be fun for sleepovers later in life! For now it serves as the step Cole uses to get up into his new bed. We pull the trundle out at night so he can get in and out. Otherwise he could get out but not back in and that sounds like more work for mom and dad, so he gets to have the step for now.

Please send us good sleep juju as we need it. The transition the last month has not been an easy one. We decided to just jump all the way in and get the big boy bed as we have 7 weeks to get our great sleeper back into his routine. Tick tock, tick tock!

How I spent my Saturday morning...

2009-07-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

You can imagine in a place where it reaches 112 by lunch time, we do any outside play first thing in the morning, before 8am strikes.

Here is how Cole spent his Saturday morning. Most of the time he can't even wait to get out of his PJ's before he is standing at the door saying "Momma, outside! Shoes! Bubbles! Outside!" His enthusiasm for the outdoors is impressive seeing as how I have tried with no success to get him to appreciate TV. Oh well, we'll look back when he is 12 and glued to his XBox and remember the days when we couldn't keep him ON the couch.

Cole and his bedhead, enjoying his Husky chair, courtesy of Nana. Notice how Daddy tought him to use the cup holder feature for his bubbles!

Taking a quick banana break...
Perfecting his "cheese!"

I realized I forgot to post any pictures of our 4th of July trip. Cole loved the lake and had fun swimming with daddy! Weather was great in Seattle...but no A/C and 90 degrees was cause for complaints from this pregnant lady.

8 weeks until baby sister arrives...!

Making room for baby sister...

2009-06-23T12:39:00.001-07:00

We knew the day would have to come, although we have been avoiding it for the past month or so. Knowing that baby sister is arriving in September, Cole has to give up his crib. While I am excited for him to have a new big boy bed, I am also apprehensive about changing our routine. Cole is a champ sleeper and messing with sleep is not high on my list right now.

However, Sunday we just went for it. Cole woke up in the morning in a crib and went down for a nap at noon in a toddler bed. I have no pictures to post as they would not demonstrate the traumatic hour it took to get him to sleep. After he finally wore himself out fighting sleeping in the toddler bed, he crawled in, laid down and zonked out. We have had success ever since!

This morning he finally realized that he could get himself out of the bed on his own. I am hoping this doesn't create issues tonight for bedtime...but no time like the present to deal with it. He will get his real big boy bed in August when we put baby sister's room together.

It's still hard to believe in just 2 1/2 months we will be a family of 4...

Starting him young...

2009-06-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a nice stop at Starbucks this morning while out for our Sunday walk. The hard part of Cole's age is that he wants whatever it is that mom and dad have. Today, we both happened to have iced lattes from Starbucks. Obviously not a suitable beverage for a 19 month old. A temper tantrum started until daddy had a brilliant idea...

Nothing that a mini-vanilla scone and some chocolate milk in a tall Starbucks cup and a straw couldn't fix! Good job dad!

Let me in Momma!

2009-05-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

It's official, Cole loves the pool! For safety the pool is fenced and it's a good thing because the minute Cole goes outside, he's ready to jump right in the water. This morning I took this picture of him...you can only imagine how sad his little face is on the other side. He holds onto the fence like they are prison bars keeping him out!

We also started swimming lessons today. At the end of class they asked if we wanted to try a quick dunk for Cole. I figured why not, he'd already voluntarily done it to himself twice during class! He seems to be advancing well in the class, now if mommy could just learn to swim while we are there!

We took a dip last night after work...here we are all snuggled up in our towels afterwards.

Livin' on Goldfinch, finally!

2009-05-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

We survived the weekend. It was touch and go there for a while, but in the end...we survived another move! It's a good thing we are in love with this house, because I don't plan to move for a long time!

Friday was our big day...movers arrived at 7:30am, by 10:30am we were on our way to the new house and they were gone by 1:30pm. There were 2 guys and they moved pretty quick. At one point we had the entire street blocked because movers, Directv, fridge delivery and furniture delivery were all here at the same time. Better all than none, I guess!

I'll try to post pictures of the house as we get all settled. For now here is a picture of the outside of the house.

One thing we made sure to do this weekend was test out the pool. We are so happy to have a pool again! Here are Shawn and Cole going for a dip.

What a difference a year makes...here is Cole last May and Cole this May. Please note he finally got a haircut, phew!

18 months...what a big boy!

2009-05-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

This morning was Cole's 18 month check up. We didn't see his normal pediatrician as she is out on maternity leave. To our delight, when we arrived, she was also there checking in for her 2 month old daughter's check up. It was great to see her and meet her baby girl. She couldn't get over how grown up Cole is looking. Mom and dad agree! Here is a picture to demonstrate his very mature look! Please disregard his terrible hair...he needs a haircut but mommy hasn't found the time. Soon, I promise!

This was Cole's first "big boy" trip to the doctor. He got to stand on the scale (instead of being laid on the baby one) and did a great job. He got a Bob the Builder sticker for a job well done. Here are the latest stats!

Height: 30 1/4" (50th percentile)

Weight 25.2 lb (50th percentile)

You've got to hand it to Cole...he is certainly consistent! We had to giggle when we discovered Cole weighs just 3lb more than his 7 month old niece Autumn. Hmmm...?

We had a visit from Grandma and Papa John last month. Here is Cole trying on Papa's shoes. Try to ignore the diaper only look...we were getting ready for bathtime!

I had to also throw this one in for laughs...Cole found his Easter eggs and busted into the candy. Nice job Cole...next time try to hide the evidence a little better!

Friday is moving day...finally! We look forward to getting settled in the new house over the 3-day weekend. Hopefully we'll be able to unpack enough to find the camera and upload some pictures of the house.

Pinky Blu...!

2009-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

No pictures to accompany this post...but wanted to update the blog with our latest news. We found out today that our little baby is going to be a girl. I haven't quite recovered from the shock but we are very excited. Most know that I predicted another boy...always saw 2 boys in our future. We couldn't be more thrilled with this news and hey, I always love a reason to shop, which I will need to since everything I own is blue!

I have to give Amy credit for naming the new baby...Cole was "Baby Blu" before he joined us...we are kind of liking "Pinky Blu" for this one. Thanks for the name Amy!

Easter 2009...the Blu's are back!

2009-04-14T09:13:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed a great Easter weekend! Shawn's parents were in town for 10 days (and purchased a full time home in AZ!) and unfortunately had to leave on Easter morning. We celebrated Easter a day early with our traditional feast on Saturday night. Sunday morning the real festivities began. I couldn't believe how into the egg hunt Cole was. Last year he was too young, so this year was a treat for mom and dad to watch him go after the eggs. Each time he saw another one he would gasp in excitement, pick it up and put it in his basket. On more than one occassion his eggs fell out of his basket as he bent down to pick up another egg. It worked out okay as I think he thought they were new eggs each time he picked them up! While the egg hunting was exciting, so was busting into them and eating all the jelly beans and M&M's. I finally had to hide the egg basket from both Cole and Daddy! I bought all kinds of fun toys to put in Cole's eggs, thinking he's a little young for too much candy. Unfortunately none of the cars, toys, etc. fit in the eggs. Better planning on the part of the Easter Bunny will be needed for 2010!

Here is Cole looking super cool for his Easter morning workout...notice he didn't break much of a sweat!

We did our final walk through of the house yesterday and are supposed to have our keys tomorrow. Stay tuned for pictures of the new house...we plan to move in late-May.

Spring has sprung!

2009-03-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

I hate to even put up this post, knowing some of our loyal blog followers don't reside in the Valley of the Sun and also because I heard a rumor it was snowing this morning in parts of Seattle. However, I can't help but share a couple of pictures from a gorgeous 80 degree weekend in Arizona!

Shawn was out of town all weekend so we had some mommy and Cole time. We started Saturday morning with a walk to our new neighborhood and a visit to the park we will frequent in the future. Cole really showed off his daredevil side taking the slide by storm, on his stomach and landing with his face in the sand. The first time I was really worried, but by the 8th time I knew he didn't mind the sand that was up his nose. Here he is having a great time on the swings...

With Shawn out of town, Cole had to pick up the slack. Too bad bubble mowers don't really do the trick because the kid covered every inch of the backyard at least twice.

We spent today at the zoo with my friend Rachel and her daughter Haley. I was so upset that I forgot my camera....only to get home and realize it was in the diaper bag the entire time. I guess the pregnancy brain is finally kicking in. As Shawn always says..."you'll be fine after the baby comes..." Let's just hope so!

Welcome home daddy, we missed you!

Like brother like...?

2009-03-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

We are excited to share with friends and family that we are (unexpectedly) expecting baby #2! I guess the good lord decided we were finally getting too much time on our hands with Cole growing up and decided to bless us with another child. There goes all that time I had to read the Twilight series!

The nice part about the second time around for us is we know the date the baby is coming. We have settled on September 8th for the baby's arrival. We tried for 9-9-09, but the date didn't work for our doctor. Oh well!

This will probably explain to most our rush to find a new house. Our lease on the rental is up at the end of May and with the AZ summer coming, we wanted to get moved and settled before the heat (and a giant belly) get in the way. We are were so happy to learn yesterday that the house we wanted is going to be ours. The offer was accepted and now we go through the long waiting game with our fingers crossed.

Although everyone knows what an ultrasound picture looks like, and let's face it they all look the same at this point, we decided we had to post these. These 2 pictures are both kids at 12 weeks. I won't need to explain my gut feeling that I am having another boy. If these 2 can do the exact same thing, at the exact same time in the womb...I have to believe they are brothers!

COLE 12 WEEKS

BABY #2 12 WEEKS

Beni & the Blu's...

2009-02-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

In your head I hope you singing..."Benny, Benny, Benny & the Jetts"...? :)

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day with a 15 month old? Normal parents would find a babysitter, but not us...we take the baby with us to celebrate.

We packed up and headed out to Benihana last night. Of course we took 5:30pm reservations and were pleasantly surprised that not just blue hairs occupied the restaurant. We chose Benihana thinking that Cole would be entertained by the flying food and flaming volcano onion that Benhiana offers. Turns out we were right, it was a hit!

Here a few pictures of the evening...

PS...are Cole and I related much?

Little Movie Star

2009-02-10T09:57:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since our last post and I wish I had more to report from AZ! I guess no news is good news around here. We continue to slowly look for a home to call our own again. Thought we had found it a couple of weeks ago, but someone else beat us to it. So...we continue to look.

I found this picture of Cole and had to post it. He loves glasses and when he finds them he knows just what to do with them. He found these sunglasses and just kept putting them on and taking them off. I think he looks like a little movie star in the big hollywood shades (check out his big chompers)!

Cole is keeping busy and keeping us very busy! He continues to learn new words and now can say Mama, Dada, Nana (this is banana, or any snack really), Milk (which is pronounced Ma-Mo), Ball, Bubbles, Grandpa (said Ba-Pa), More, Yes and No. He loves to say No and even shakes his head at the same time.

Here is Cole in his bath recently. He just loves to take baths and learned how to splash while he was at his cousin's house last month (thanks, Lukas!). He makes quite a mess most nights.

PS...I have said before, but feel I need to comment again. I SWEAR his hair looks fire engine red in pictures...but not as much in real life. Maybe I am just in denial...

Destination Boise!

2009-01-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

We just got home from a 4 day trip to Boise to see Cole's cousins and my sister and Judd. You can reference my post from November, after a 10 day visit, raving about how much I love Boise and was ready to pack my bags and move. Don't get me wrong, I still love it there, but if we ever move there, I might have to keep a "winter" home in AZ. It was COLD! We survived 28 degrees by borrowing lots of down coats, sweaters and blankets from Kristie and Judd. My vest (or Arizona parka as Karla calls it) wasn't going to cut it in those temps.

Cold aside, we had a great visit! I hadn't seen Autumn since the day after she was born (below she is celebrating her 3 month birthday and President Obama's inaguration), so I was thrilled to spend time with her. Cole and Lukas played great together, although Cole is still a bit of a bully. He's gotten very good at giving things back to Lukas after he swipes them from him.

The highlight for Cole was sledding. Judd and Shawn took the boys up to the snow and Cole just loved it. Since mom didn't go, dad let Cole be a daredevil and go sledding by himself. He loved it!

The highlight for me was just spending time with my sister. We don't get to spend enough time together, so 4 days was a great treat.Thanks for hosting us Williams Family! I am sure it's nice to have a bit of order back in your house, not to mention being back in your own bed. We love and miss you guys!

Momma, why can't I have the whole box of Cheerios?

2009-01-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

This is why you shouldn't give your 14 month old the whole box of Cheerios to eat. He wanted a snack and loved the box so much I thought, what the heck? How much damage could he do with a box of Cheerios? These pictures don't do the mess justice. The best part was when he stood up after the spill and stomped on them and then drug the crumbs through the house on his socks. Good times.Here he is playing outside after the mess was cleaned up. I just love this photo...he looks like such a Big Boy! He loves to play outside...Shawn always says he is going to remind Cole of this when he is 9 years old and won't peel his buns off the couch from playing video games. :)

Mom, where did my mullet go?

2009-01-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

It was months coming...Cole's first hair cut. First he was a darling baby born with auburn colored hair. Then, it all fell out. Slowly over the last 12 months it's grown back until we finally got to the point that we were businessing in the front and partying in the back (and partying on the sides as well). So...off to "Snip-it's" we went on Sunday.

I had major reservations about taking Cole for this hair cut. This is a child who doesn't sit still for 2 minutes, let alone be strapped into a chair while a stranger comes at his little head with scissors. To my surprise, he was a champ! These pictures don't give his hair cut justice. The best description I can give you is Jim Carrey in Dumb & Dumber. I'm talking short and straight across the front. It's hilarious. At least the mullet is gone...and as they say, it will grow back!

A White December 18th!

2008-12-19T05:44:00.000-08:00

Hoping the title will catch your attention. So, yes we saw snow last night...okay no, not the real kind. Not like our friends in Washington are getting.

My dad is in town and we decided to take Cole to go see it snow. Every night at 7pm one of the outdoor malls makes it snow for 15 minutes. They have a beautiful tree set up, they play Christmas music and the flakes fall.

Cole was a hit with the crowd running around trying to catch the snow in his hand. It was at that point we realized, wait...this isn't even fake snow. In fact, why are we coughing so much? The snow was some sort of foamy snow, making us cough, made of a cancer causing chemical I am sure. All the same, it was beautiful, festive and we had a great time!

Amazing Chandler Toddler Potty Trains at 1 Year Old!

2008-12-06T18:00:00.001-08:00

Not really, this was just the fun tonight before the bath. I know the day will come when I am not allowed (or it's just inappropriate) for me to photograph these buns. Until then, I'll capture them every chance I get!

How DO you hang Christmas lights with a 1 year old?

2008-12-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

We survived Thanksgiving weekend. How wonderful to have 4 days home together, how not wonderful to be sick the entire time. I got the not wonderful part of that deal, by the way. Regardless, we pressed on with the bird, stuffing and holiday decor that truly make it Thanksgiving weekend!

Thursday we enjoyed a quiet dinner with just the 3 of us. During the day our friend Kent came over to visit. Kent was a groomsman in our wedding and a favorite in the Blubaum house. He lives in Idaho, so we don't get to see him that often. Here are Shawn and Cole enjoying Kent's company!

We were determined to get the house decorated this weekend. While we didn't get it all done, we made a good effort. It is our first Christmas in this house, so it's always a learning experience of where the outlets are, what looks good where, etc. Luckily a speedy trip to the Dollar Store saved the day to purchase a few must have items. Who knew $1 bows could look so good? Sure, they might not last until December 25th, but hey...

The big dilema is how do you hang Christmas lights with your 1 year old son, who can't sit still for 2 minutes, around? First you would think...nap time, right? Well, of course all the good football games are on during nap time...so what do we do? That's right, set up a pack & play in the driveway, throw some toys in there and voila...we can hang the lights. I can only imagine what the neighbors think about us...who puts their kid in a portable crib, in his jammies, in the driveway? Oh well, the lights got hung and look fabulous! You might wonder why it takes 2 of us to hang the lights. 30 foot palm trees, lights wrapped around the trunk from top to bottom. This required a staple gun, a very tall ladder, a very brave husband and a wife on hand to wrap lights and be there "just in case."

Sunday's with Coley

2008-11-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

Our weekend family tradition on Saturday's and Sunday's is to get up in the morning for some family exercise. Let's face it we all need it (okay, mom and dad more than Cole) and it's good family time together. The new neighborhood is very active and we have familiar faces we see each morning. Usually Starbucks is the motivator to keep us going (it's about a 2 miles from our house), but hey...whatever works! This past weekend it was chilly! Everyone had to bundle up for the excursion (this is a rare occurance in AZ).

A few updates since the last post. We had Cole's 1 year doctor appointment. The latest stats are:

Weight 22lb 11 1/2oz (50th percentile)

Height 29 3/4" (50th percentile)

He's doing all the things they want him to be doing at this point. He's learned a few new words in the last couple of weeks. My favorite is "uh oh" which comes out as "uh oooooh." It's pretty cute and he says it at the just the perfect moments to make us laugh. He's getting pretty quick and I anticipate the running child is a comin'! His new favorite thing to do is walk himself out the front door to the car and wait by the door for you to put him in his carseat. He doesn't always wait, sometimes I end up chasing him around the front yard. It's fun to see him acting more and more like a big boy each day.

Here is Cole in with his first set of wheels! Cole's cousin Lukas LOVES the car-cart. I anticipate our boy is going to like them just as much. Any of you mother's out there know the one thing about those carts is they are IMPOSSIBLE to steer. People seem to understand and I just shout "wide load" as we walk through the aisles of Fry's.

Despite how bad they stink, the Blubaum's continue to cheer on the Seahawks each and every Sunday. Cole is finally big enough to fit into his Matt Hasselbeck jersey (thank you Amanda!) and looks adorable. Here is our big fan before the game.

Catching up!

2008-11-04T07:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since our last post. I have gotten semi-addicted to Facebook and have been putting all my pictures up there, realizing that my little blog has probably gotten lonely. We were also very busy in the month of October. I guess I'll recap in order...

On October 11th, Cole and I boarded a plane to Boise, ID. We were so excited to meet our new niece/cousin, who was due to arrive the very next day. Not scheduled to arrive, due to arrive. We would quickly learn the difference between those 2 statements. Boise was beautiful (I am secretly in love with it and would move there tomorrow if Shawn would let us!) and we had a great time watching the boys, Cole & Lukas, play together. I should translate what "play together" really meant...Lukas had a toy and Cole would come take it away from him. Yes, my son is a bully at age 1...so sad. Regardless, we had a great week!

We were scheduled to leave Boise on October 19th, but when the day came and we still didn't have a new niece/cousin, we had to extend our trip. The very next day, little miss Autumn Lyn came into the world. She is a beautiful baby girl, weighing in at 8lb 1oz and a FULL head of dark hair. I am so proud that we share the same middle name (thank you Judd & Kristie)!

So Cole and I returned from our 10 day vacation in Boise and I tried to return to working. I really got used to sleeping in until 8am all that time! We arrived home just in time for Halloween and to put the finishing touches on Cole's 1st Birthday Party.

Here is our dragon!

Saturday we had Cole's party at the house. He was a super trooper and was all smiles, all day. He loved the attention, the presents, oh and especially the cake. He is going to give his cousin Lukas lessons on how to devour cake on his 3rd birthday. ;)

So, now...Cole is 1! I am of course in denial and still refer to him as the "baby." Shawn walks around saying, "I want another one, I want another one." 12 months ago he couldn't have grown up quick enough, now I just want that little snuggly baby boy back. He walks, he is starting to talk, he feeds himself, I mean really what am I good for these days besides poopy diaper clean up? Regardless, he'll always be my "baby."

Last night for his actual birthday we took him to Red Robin. He loves mac & cheese and ate enough for a 10 year old. Piggy! They sang him Happy Birthday and brought him an ice cream sundae, which he wouldn't touch. I think he has officially over dosed on sweets!

Clap on, clap off...the Clapper!

2008-10-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

Cole has finally mastered clapping. The mystery still remains, why he will only clap in the bathtub. We were out at dinner tonight and a couple next to us were trying to get Cole to do his "tricks" (clapping, waving, peekaboo, etc.). Wouldn't you know the child refused to perform, yet the minute those precious buns hit the water, he resumed clapping. Who knows! Enjoy...

Drunken Sailor...

2008-10-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

The long anticipated (well, in our minds) video of proof that the Cole man is walking. True, it's not a stable walk, hence the drunken sailor title...but we give the boy credit all the same, he's only 11 months old!

This new bathroom rocks!

2008-09-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

Not only do Mom and Dad love the extra space in the new house, Cole is loving it as well! We had a relatively uneventful move (thank you Karla!) over the weekend, and Cole's first night in the house he slept over 12 hours...which we were thankful for!

Here are a few pictures of Cole enjoying the new master bathroom. He's never had this much room before...exploring the bathtub, toilet, etc. Also included are pictures of his first "bubble bath"...you will see from the pictures he tried to EAT the bubbles. YUMMY!

The last swim on Caroline Lane...

2008-09-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

We are having a lot of "lasts" here on Caroline Lane. The movers are coming on Friday to pack us up and move us out of our first home. We've been a bit more emotional than we would have expected thinking about all the things that have happened at 508 W Caroline Lane.

1) We got engaged here...in our master bedroom - December 2005
2) We had 75 of our closest friends & family here to celebrate before our wedding - April 2006
3) I sprained my foot 2 days before our wedding in our pool (great story!) - April 2006
4) We made Cole here (too much information??) - January 2007
5) We brought Cole home here...to his room, in his first house - November 2007
6) Cole took his first steps here - Still waiting...child, you have 5 days to accomplish this!!

Regardless, it is time to move on. In honor of our last weekend in the house, we had the final

swim in our pool. While it's still at least 100 degrees here, those that don't live in Arizona are always surprised that this time of year your pool just gets too chilly to be in. We braved one final chilly water Sunday for old time sake.

We also decided to feed Cole dinner outside tonight. He was so distracted by everything happening outside, but manged to eat all his green beans. The kid LOVES green beans! We aren't complaining! :)

I suppose you know you have packed too many of your child's toys when you walk in and find this. He really was this surprised when I walked in and caught him making this mess. Tearing up tissue kept him as quiet and content as could be!

Here today...gone tomorrow (well, September 29th actually)!

2008-09-13T17:59:00.001-07:00

I don't have any pictures to post, but wanted to at least update the blog sometime in September 2008!

We've been busy at the Blubaum House! On September 5th we put our house on the market. We were in no rush to move, but the way the housing market is here we figured we should get the process started as it was going to take several months.

To our surprise we had a lot of showings of the house within the first 24 hours and amazingly an actual offer came during that 24 hour period as well! We accepted the full price offer and are scheduled to close on September 29th.

Now...where do we go? We are on the hunt for a rental house and have found some great prospects. We're not able to sign a lease until we know our house is truly going to close, which won't be until just a few days before the 29th. This means we could be homeless for a few days. So if you see us come knocking on your door with the baby in tow, please answer...

For now we are buried in boxes, tape and Goodwill piles. Imagine all this while chasing around a 10 month old who is getting ready to walk. No doubt we will age 10 years by the time September 29th comes around.

More to come soon...!