Wisconsin Update

We went to Wisconsin and the boys were perfect on the plane. They both practically slept the whole way so we didn't need to pull out toys every 10 minutes to keep them entertained. Once we landed, we pulled out a DVD player that Susan DuBose let us borrow and that kept Eban very entertained on our two-three hour drive to Wausau! He watched trucks, trucks, trucks. Jack was happy as he got to look at Nani the whole way.

Once we got into the rural area east of Minneapolis, there were a lot of barns in the Amish country we were passing. Nani kept pointing at things and saying, "Isn't this funny?" So I kept wondering what was funny and she said...you know, the barns! She said they looked just like the barns int he movie Superman. She then asked if Superman was filmed in Wisconsin and I had to tell her that it was most likely Kansas.

We got to the hotel and Tutu was there and Eban was tickled to see her. She met us at the end of a road so she could walk back up the hill to the condo and Eban was perplexed and kept saying "TUTU?? TUTU???" We told him that she would be with us in two seconds. It was great that he remembered her so well. He also slept with her in a room with two singles bed pushed together and he did a great job. In fact, Tutu made him a fire truck fleece blanket which he loves. In Wisconsin, he called it fire truck blankie and in Colorado, he calls it Tutu's blankie. Sweet.

One morning, Tutu, Nani, the boys and I went to a northern suburb (if you would call it that) of Wausau to see our old neighbor, Holly Toole. She has seven kids and I have many fond memories of the Toole household with her three sisters - even going to camp for seven weeks with two of them. So as we were catching up, in walks Holly's parents and her three sisters! Talk about talking nonstop!! It was such a wonderful surprise to talk about what terrible pranks we did and how we still feel guilty to this day for ruining neighbors back screen doors, feeding one another spicy food without milk, and spraining ankles in front of one another due to bad choices - such as the time I was showing off that I could jump off an 8 foot tree branch. I was so smart. Ugh.

Anyway, I had the opportunity in the afternoon to hang out with Kara and her cousins helping her tie things to wedding reception stuff. We laughed and caught up with stories. The next morning, we went to the largest indoor water park in northern Wisconsin. It was insane for Eban. He was nonstop and loved the water and all the activities he could do. Tutu got stuck with him under a 50 gallon bucket of water that dumped right on her...it knocked her glasses off, but somehow Eban loved it and kept running without being affected by the pounding water.

The wedding was beautiful. It was outdoors overlooking a lake in a park. I wish I could have seen more of it but Jack was fussy and Eban wanted to run. Eban finally settled down and he blew bubbles at people as the exited the park...the reception was insane. Eban ran and ran and ran. Finally when the music started he stayed in one place...on the dance floor. Some guy did the worm, so Eban did the worm. But he danced and danced and danced. It was so funny!

The next day, we went to the camp where Kara worked and we went canoeing and played soccer in the big field, and did all sorts of camp-related activities. It was such a good time, but then my camera broke. I was heart broken. So all the photos you see in this post are from Nani's camera.

We left a tad early to take care of Jack's asthma. We took it easy in the condo for the rest of the trip until we left for the airport in the morning. Kara was so nice and checked in with Jack after we left. I couldn't believe she'd call after her wedding and right before her honeymoon.

Big news: Jack is CRAWLING! Finally at ten and a half months, he's learning independence and he's crawling to things - especially Eban. So this is new for Eban and he's learning that he has to share when Jack gets to him. Of course, Jack wants what he has and it can be a battle. There have been some time outs in this mix as Eban like to bonk Jack in the face with whatever Jack is trying to grab.

Eban is speaking in sentences. It's crazy to hear him. He'll say, "I'm cleaning" or "I'm driving the moto" or "I want the back seat Mama!". It's so new that it's still weird to hear him use the proper sentence structure.

The DNC is in Denver so that makes downtown a tad hectic. We will have a young college student from George Washington University, Kate, stay with us as she'll be blogging about service for the convention. It's a bi-partisan effort via ServiceNation to ensure that both presidential candidates incorporate community service or service learning into their platforms. I have been involved with them in a communications capacity and the director of communications asked if we'd host someone for the week...she'd even camp in the backyard. Ryan and I are happy to host her even though she'll be basically using the bed and then leaving again for the blogger's tent at the convention. She's going to try to get another ticket to Obama's acceptance speech and if she gets it, I'll give it to Ryan as I'm already attending some events and private parties. Such as tomorrow, I'm golfing with invited guests of Xcel Energy at Bear Dance Golf Course south of Castle Rock, Colorado! Tough gig...although I did receive two tickets to the philanthropy roundtable on Monday, but I gave my ticket to my boss (if you google that, you can see more info).

I almost forgot...we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary! We went to the JW Marriott in Cherry Creek where we celebrated our first anniversary and then went to Morton's where we had our first date. My friend, is the GM of the Marriott and he was very kind to us as we were on the concierge level overlooking the city with a mountain view. While Ryan got ready in the bathroom, I got ready in the room. When he walked out, he couldn't believe his eyes as I had make-up on and he exclaimed that I had a beautiful summer dress on. He continued to say how pretty it was and asked where I got it. So I told him I wore it on my wedding and that I was pretty stoked that I could still fit into my "summer wedding dress" after having two kids! I can't believe he forgot what it looked like!

This weekend, we went to our friend's Danielle and Mark's house where they had a pool party and then had a band. Eban loved dancing again but got embarrassed when everyone was laughing at him. He gave everyone in the crowd the "stink-eye".

Enjoy your week and this past pic is from a sunset near our house! I promise to upload more photos after I get my camera back...I even have plenty of stellar video!

Check out Eban's first kiss! and popo

So I've heard that Eban has kissed girls in class but he was lucky to have Avery be his first kiss caught on camera. I just love how she's grabbing his head and holding him...so sweet!

We were at a benefit concert at the Rehm's house this weekend and Avery was so sweet to take him around and watch him. Well...he was quite smitten with her and stayed with her all night and through the fireworks. At one point during the fireworks, there were a bunch of kids all laying down on their back and I was in the middle...Avery left and then little Eban left me with no problem or guilt. He ran down the hill to sit next to her again to watch the fireworks.

The good news of the week is that Eban used his potty a couple of times! He's not completely potty trained but he's doing a great job and getting there 50% of the time. Not bad! I've heard that most parents reward their children for going in the potty but his reward is flushing the toilet which he loves. He's happy with this for now so I'm hoping it stays this way.

I chopped my hair and layered it for the first time in years. It makes me look like a mom...but then again, I am one so I guess it's okay!

Ryan and Eban left Jack and me to the house all day as they are having a boy's afternoon at the theater seeing Wall-E.

Check out the picture of the pool just below this paragraph...I went up two houses and got it for $2.50 at a garage sale. When I saw it all crinkled up in a box I thought it was one of the small little round pools that I had growing up...the one with the faded turtles or what have you all over it. Well this pool ends up being huge...check it out!! What a bargain for a "baby" pool!

Enjoy your week...we're off to Wisconsin to the bugs (and of course to see Kara and Rick)...will update this following our first family trip!

Lung steroids

Well, the title of this blog says it all...Lung Steroids. Yes, it's a unique type of steroid and Jack has taken them. I've been on eye steroids after my cataract surgery, but poor little Jack was prescribed lung steroids after a severe bout of breathing difficulties two weeks ago. He woke up breathing very hard and we took him to see his doctor by 7:30am. He was breathing roughly 50-55 breaths per minute and average is 40. So they used the nebulizer on him and it worked miracles to see him breathe normally again.
The doctor said he has a sever upper respiratory infection (again) and that he can't classify it as baby asthma, but he needed a little more help this time and therefore prescribed lung steroids to use as needed. He only had to take them a couple of times the following days but he's now only nebulizing approximately once a day. Basically, it's the same medicine that's in an inhaler...but in the format of a mask for a baby/infant. Jack has taken to it quite well.

I guess that's the exciting news on this end.

The boys have taken to daddy's guitar playing. They really warm up to it and we sing all sorts of kiddie songs. Eban's favorite is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He also likes the Barney song from the tv show. Eban also likes taking stickers and stickering Jack...that's awfully thoughtful of him!

Jack still only has one tooth. He's still not crawling. And he's getting heavier by the second. I swear that I have man arms because I pick up two 30-40 pound weights in each arm every day several times a day. What's frightening is that my arms are chiseled...it's somewhat gross, but I guess it helps my golf game. That's one good way to look at it??

Eban's imagination grows daily. He loves to be a lion and growl and crawl around to the various humans in the house. He growls and makes scary faces and once he gets to you, he crawls by. I guess it's a good thing that he doesn't take a chomp out of our legs or what have you!

This weekend has been chock full of events. Ryan and I saw the Dark Knight last night. We also went to a coffee house and played Scrabble over a cup of java. It's neat because in each Scrabble board I have whether it's travel Scrabble, the fancy lazy Susan Scrabble or the normal board game, I have kept all the scores in the boxes. It's fun to review the old games and see the dates...I'm sure some of you are silently calling me a geek in your heads, but that's okay!

This morning, we headed down to the zoo, where we fed the birds, rode the train, rode the carosel, and went to the petting zoo section. Immediately following our jaunt to the zoo, we went to Heather's boyfriend's surprise 40th birthday party which was at our old condo's pool. As were we swimming, everyone was running out to get into the event room, but Ryan, me, and the boys. As Clyde walked by, he looked in the pool and nonchalantly said, "Hey Ryan...what are you doing here?" Ryan looked at him and with a straight face said, "We're just swimming." So he shook his head and walked in the event room and everyone yelled surprise. We both thought it would look more suspicious if we ran (with two kids in tow) out of the pool and into the event area so we just continued to swim around. He told us he had no clue, but who knows.

After the party where Eban gobbled down lots of hummus, we went back home for brief showers before going to our dear friends' house for dinner. Jodi and Vince hosted the crazy Tracy clan for some of Vince's killer chicken and lots of food. Eban loved their koi pond and feeding those monster fish! Check out the video below...he also loved taking leaves from their garden and smelling the fresh cilantro, basil or other herbs. He also loved their horses, chickens, and big tractor they have on their property. Jodi commended me for my multi-tasking ability...hold a 30+ pound baby, a beer, and take photos that turn out in a halfway decent manner! Heck, I think I was even chasing Eban around some lovely bushes at this time she was telling me this.

We had a great time laughing and reminiscing about the many years and the many crazy stories we've shared! What's fabulous about Jodi and Vince is that they live about a mile away from us...and the middle school is a stone's throw from their house, so when the boys are older, they'll head over to their house out hang out or help with horse clean up!!!
That's all I can remember for now...my brain is fried from a lack of sleep and a long day...but it's great when those days include your entire family.

EBAN AND HIS PUPPY VIDEO

JACK WAVING BYE BYE...with a burp or two

SCARY LION (it's really Eban)

FEEDING THE BIRDS AT THE ZOO

SCARY BIRD

JACK GETS LEFT BEHIND

EBAN FEEDS HIS FINGERS TO THE FISH

Eban's Coffee

As always, Eban's vocabulary grows by each passing second. It's amazing to hear what words or sentences come out of his mouth and it's more fun to watch his sense of humor develop. It's simply amazing.

Jack has been fighting a temperature since Thursday night so I'm attributing it to teething although he still only has one bottom tooth and hardly any hair...he's taking after his Uncle Steve on the hair part!

Right now, Papa and Eban are off at our friend's pool and Jack is napping so I'll briefly share some pictures and videos with you. The only little story I can think of sharing is the fact that I received a $5 gift card for Starbucks last week, so Saturday morning Eban and I walked up to our local Starbucks so I could get a white mocha. As I finished ordering Eban started throwing a little fit saying MY COFFEE. So the kind people at Starbucks said "We'll get you a coffee" and they made him a small chocolate milk. I'll tell you what...that little kid was so proud he was having "coffee" he could barely sit straight. He held onto his Starbuck's cup the entire trip home and proudly sat with it at the table this morning as I had my coffee. So we even had a coffee date this morning (he didn't finish his coffee yesterday) at his table and drank our coffee together. It was really cute - he's getting so old!!

Eban's imagination is also growing wildly which I love. He turned his table over and created a car...he even wanted Jack to sit in the "seat" next to him so the following pictures showcase this fun-filled imaginary world of his!

The following pictures are ones that Eban took when he stole my camera and he loves the camera now...Enjoy!

DRIVING IN THE CAR

SAYING GOODBYE AS EBAN NEEDS TO DRIVE HIS CAR

Starbucks Coffee (I shouldn't put this up here...you can figure out why)

Fireworks and Moto

Uncle Steve left too quickly and now every motorcycle is "Uncle Steve's Moto!" He even called his little three-wheeled bike that the Rainen's gave him "Eban's Moto!"

On the 3rd of July, I had a half day of work so I hit the links at the closest public golf course called Riverdale in Henderson, Colorado. I joined two women and one of their husbands. I guess I played decently and they asked if I'd serve as a substitute on the golf course's golf league. I said sure so now I need one more round of golf so I can acquire a handicap. I'm pretty excited about this as I love the game. We then went up to Erie, Colorado, where we participated in the Erie fireworks and festival. We spread out some blankets and our lawn chairs on the Vista Ridge Golf Course driving range and after what seemed like hours of waiting the fireworks finally started around 9:30pm. I was worried that Jack would be terrified but he was calm and easy going throughout the entire 25 minute display. Eban sat on my lap and would say "boom" here and there but mostly he sat in awe looking at the colorful sky.

The next day was somewhat of a nightmare as the kids were off their schedule. We went to a community pool in Broomfield that had waterslides and a kiddie pool area and Eban loved it. He wanted "more slide" all the time. I would hold him in front of me as we would tear around the corners of these slides and then lift him up as we landed in the pool area. Jackson hated the pool so this is a new development as he LOVES the bath.

On the afternoon of the 4th, we headed down to Denver to Chris and Jen's house for more food and boat activities. I didn't bring my suit, but the next time I will as they were knee boarding and wake boarding all afternoon (I think that's what you call it??)

Eban loved riding in the boat. He really loved honking the horn. What we loved the most was the fact that Avery was very mindful of Eban and they sat together the entire time. Each time she asked for a kiss, he would oblige. Smart boy!!

Sunday, daddy left for Houston for some new certification class for a week so we'll see if the house goes up in flames since he's not here. HA...just kidding. Tonight, Henrik (my friend Liz and Dan's son) came over and he's only 11 weeks old. He's such a cutie and was a good boy all night while Eban proceeded to be naked baby and run around and say POPO and who knows what else! Jack is...well...always hungry. He's only happy with food...or Nani. He absolutely adores Nani. He giggles the loudest when he's with her and he is just delighted to be in her company every day.
That's it for now...we're still waiting for Jack to crawl!

CHRIS WAKE BOARDING ON THE LAKE BEHIND HIS HOUSE (Eban is in the boat loving every minute of it!)

THE BARNEY SONG (I can't believe I know the words)