ABCs

One of my favorite sounds is hearing one of the boys singing.  Here's Cole singing his ABCs.

Here's a video of Jackson, at about the same age, singing his ABCs!

Cole Turns 2!

This post is a little late, but I wanted to share details about Cole recently turning 2!

His birthday fell on a Wednesday and while he missed school on his big day (he had yet another cold that led to wheezing/labored breathing so we kept him home to rest and keep an eye on him), he was able to open presents in the a.m., and enjoy pizza and ice cream sundaes in an impromptu celebration with the Reeders and Gossetts that night. He loved us singing to him so much that he asked for us to sing again before the night was over (which of course, we agreed to).

 (Sorry - this is an extremely long video, but there's lots of cuteness.)

Grampa Curtis was in town that week, so he and Gramma Joan watched the boys on Thursday and everyone had a blast together.  The following day, Cole returned to school and while these photos don't convey it, he enjoyed the birthday circle there, the crown his teacher made him, and the donut holes we brought in as a treat.

On Saturday, we had a small family party at our house with all Cole's grandparents, Great Gramma, Scott, Anya, and Consuelo.  He loved and was totally into opening presents this year - he tore through everything, "ooohhh my'ing" along the way.

Cole's really grown up a lot in the past few months, and is quite the chatterbox.  Here are some highlights:

• Recently moved into the Early Preschool class at school, a few months prior to plan.  The transition went really well and he seems to really like his new class and teachers. (He loved his old class and teachers but now that he's in his new class, he won't even make eye contact with them!  They think it's because he enjoys being a big boy, and doesn't want them to take him back to his old class - haha.)
• Picking up new words daily, and is putting together sentences constantly
• Counting to 6 or so without mistakes
• Singing the "ABs" (that's how he refers to the ABCs) though with gaps/mistakes along the way. My favorite is how he refers to the letter V ("Weee").  
•  Occasionally sings Twinkle, ABCs and Row Row on his own out of the blue, which are the songs we sing to him before bed each night
• Continues to love diggers, cars, big trucks and can pick Jeeps out of a line of cars without even being asked
• Has gone to the bathroom on the potty (#1 and #2) a handful of times, and LOVES getting jelly beans for it
• Totally procrastinates getting into his seat in the car, so we've had to start bribing with jelly beans and often times, that doesn't even help, and it becomes a tearful wrestling match to get him buckled in 
• Took a nap without his bink at school for the first time today!
• Goes to bed between 7:15-7:30 p.m., waking up between 6:30 and 7 a.m. on the weekends. And takes a nap between 12-12:30 for about 2 hours.
• Had a great 2-year check-up last week, and is 29.8 lbs (75-90%) and 34.75" (50-75%). 

For fun, here's a blog I did right as Jackson turned 2.

Winter Whistler Getaway

We just arrived back from an amazing Whistler getaway.  We had such a blast and thoroughly enjoyed our time there with the Barths.

We stayed in Kadenwood, which is just outside Creekside, about a 10 minute drive from downtown Whistler.  The house we rented was beautiful and had all kinds of fun amenities including an elevator, hot tub, sauna, and plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms for everyone.

We were able to play in the snow and sled in the backyard, and in about 10 minutes, we could walk to the neighborhood's private gondola, which took to/from Creekside.

Jackson discovered ice skating and absolutely loved it. We went two different times and he did great balancing and steering, while I pushed us along.

While Jackson skated, Cole stalked followed Frosty the Snowman around.  He loved him and is still talking about him.

The big boys also had a chance to test out the tube park and had a great time.  Jen, Alex and Corey loved it as well.  

Most lunch and dinners were eaten out at restaurants, and the kiddos did surprisingly well (though Cole may or may not have tackled Jackson at the end of several of the meals, on the floor of the restaurant).  One meal included the largest plate of nachos any of us had ever seen, which Corey put a nice dent in (i.e. nearly finished).

One morning, we ventured to a local indoor swimming pool and the kids had a great time playing in the kiddie pools.

Other notables included:

Walking around Creekside and the Village:

Hanging out at the house watching shows and playing games/cards:

Jackson (trying) to take photos:

The boys did great on the car ride both ways, which we split up with lunch in Bellingham.  The border didn't have a wait and the drive went smoothly.    

We're already talking about a return trip next winter, though we'd stay a few days longer, allowing us enough time for the boys to take ski lessons and the rest of us to ski/snowboard to take advantage of the AMAZING snow.