Florida

I can't believe it has taken me this long to write about our Florida adventure.  When people ask me what we did in Florida - I tell them - we went to the beach.  The boys loved it.  I loved it.  We also went to the zoo and took an awesome boat ride on the Naples Bay, but mainly we went to the beach.  MIL and FIL have the best beach.  Jr. also swam like a little guppy.  He wall walked and hung out  on the steps of the pool.  He was wet most of the time.  We had our own apartment that was nicer than our house, the boys got to meet Uncle John and Colleen.  It was a fantastic trip.  I can't wait to go back....  Thanks MIL and FIL for the amazing week.

Flying was okay on the way there and on the way back, um, less than okay.  Graham was a little monster.  Jr. was a champion though.  He did get pretty crabby when he was woken up from his nap by his brother screaming Eddy and slapping him in the head.  Who can blame him?  Next time we fly, he will be better, or Ed and I will drink more...

Jr. still says that he misses Grandma and Gramps.  Graham says Ock all of the time.  It is either about Uncle Ock or short for Walk.  The boys loved seeing their Uncle Ock and Aunt Patty.
My favorite photos from the trip - just looking at them makes me feel tan again:

Monkey boat at the fabulous Naples Zoo.

Jr. got to feed a giraffe.  Graham was hiding back there.

Joshua the camel.  Jr. was thrilled!

Graham on the beach.

The Naples Bay boat tour.

Gramps and the rasin boys.

Best photo!

We bribe Jr. to pose in family photos with us.  He is only there under penalty of death.

Sand crab.

More Winter. More Snow.

It is February.  Happy Valentines Day.  Less than a month and we are in Florida.  Our vitamin D levels are at a critical low, but we manage.  We had a nice chill weekend with the Moog sledding date.  It took is 45 minutes to dress all four kids in their outdoor gear, they sledded for 15 minutes.  Oh, I exaggerate, they sledded for 10 minutes.  Kidding.  It was so nice to have those buggers outside to play and burn off some energy.

Sunday we took the morning to go ice fishing.  Daddy and Jr. set up on the ice and after Graham's morning nap, we joined them.  It was a PERFECT day.  The snow on the ice made it safe for kids to walk on.  The sun in the sky warmed us up.  It was Graham's first trip ice fishing.  He was so serious and very interested in the holes.  These overly friendly strangers came by to tell us that we were breaking the law taking these young babies out on the ice.  Ha ha.  They also insisted that Graham looks like a girl and that we need to get a snowmobile.  Oh funny.

Moog sledding date. 

Dads preparing for the sled race!

The babies had the most fun.

Look at those blue eyes.

He loves her.

Graham snuck in too.

She is very sweet.

Coleman men fishing on the ice.  It was a beautiful day.

Baby Graham's very first ice fishing trip.

Graham really wanted to put his hand in the hole.  Jr. demonstrates how you ice fish to his little brother.

Riding in the sled.

I love this photo.  I love this boy.

He is a great fisherman.

He was watching his brother play with worms.  I took the opportunity to snap some photos.

The worms.

A lifetime of fishing obsession starts now.

Perfect morning on the ice.  If only there was some fish...

Ice fishing isn't classy.  See my getup.  Ugh.



This is a video.  A good one.



Winter Time Things

Since the last post - the boys got sicker.  Poor baby Graham ended up in the hospital for a couple hours to get some meds to help him breathe.  It wasn't even scary, we were super calm and the doctor was great.  He was a great baby, he just fell asleep in my chest while we waited.  The nurse referred to him as so stinking cute.  I couldn't agree more.

After nine days of illness, Jr. and Graham finally got better.  They went from awful, whiney, crabby boys to sweet happy little guys.  It is a true test of our patience and parenting skills when they are sick.  We slipped by with a C-.

I got to escape for a weekend to Jackson Hot Springs with some girl friends.  It was weird to not be in such a hurry all of the time.  It was a great break.  I can't wait to do it again!  Next time, I want to go somewhere with Ed.  Just one night - that is all we need.  One morning of not getting up at the crack of freaking dawn.  I used to feel like leaving my kids made me a bad parent, but now I know that a small break makes me a better parent.  It resets my patience thermometer.

Graham hit 18 months last week.  He is so stinking cute these days and now that he is feeling better, he is so happy.  He is very stubborn, but a pretty good baby all around.  He copies all of his brother's actions.  It is pretty darn funny.

Jr. had a big weekend, he got to go ice fishing, hung out with his beloved Uncle Justin and got a big boy bed.  It was a big deal for all of us.  Ed and I are still wondering if he will make it all night.  If not, that is cool, we got him a big one so one of us can sleep with him during the transition.

I love taking the boys outside to play in the snow.  I hate the 30 minutes it takes to put coats, hats, gloves, boots, snow pants, coats, and then my stuff.  Oh and then there is Selma, inches from me breathing in my face.  Gross!  Some days it is totally worth it.  The photos below show off one of those days.

Photo 1 of the series.  The set up.  Lots of snow, baby in a swing.  Brother wants his attention.

Photo 2 of the series.  Attempt to take cute photo of Graham in 3 feet of snow.

Photo 3 of the series.  Brother showers brother with bitterly cold snow.

Photo 4 of the series.  Graham cries.  I should note here it is the policy of the documentary crew not to interfere with the subjects. 

After the crying ended, Jr. joined his brother in snow swing.

So yeah, it snowed.  Epically.  At the time of this post it has mostly melted.

Little stinkers locked me out while I stepped outside to take the photo above.

Look at that sky.

Football!

Didn't get his morning nap.

That is Jr.'s fishing boat.  Graham likes to go fishing in the boat.

Uncle Justin came to visit.  The boys LOVED him.

He was very happy, but still needed that missing morning nap.

Jr. pushing his brother.

The Coleman boys and their snowman.

Justin was the true architect of the snowman.

OH MY GOSH!  Big Boy Bed.  Yeah, we know that almost 4 is a little late to keep him in a crib.  We have set aside funds for his psychotherapy.

He likes it!

Graham at the carousel! Photo credits Cissie!

Ice fishing with Justin, Grace and the only fish caught by Erik.  He carried that fish around for an hour.

The fish.

He LOVES ice fishing!

And a bonus video of dance party.

2012

Happy New Year a few weeks late.  Happy MLK day.  Illness has struck the Coleman household again.  Jr. came down with the WORST cough I have ever heard.  It is only a matter of time before it works its way through the whole house.  Ed was gone in Missoula this weekend, so that was tough, but Nanny came to help out - and save Graham from being set outside with a sign reading "Perfectly good white baby."  I kid.  Sort of.

Poor Jr. is so sick and I am exhausted so what does Les Dastardly Bebe do?  Terrorize us both to our wits end.  I am not even kidding.  We would get up and move to the basement where he would be playing, he would then get up and go upstairs to empty out the pantry.  Jr. and I would move upstairs to play with Graham and he would empty the toy basket, rip all of the books off of the shelves, take whatever toy Jr. was playing with, throw a temper tantrum, throw all of the crayons on the floor, color on the wall and then crawl back downstairs to throw blocks at the TV.  We would beg him to stay with us and play nicely and he would yell "NOOOOO!" and run away.  This went on for about 6 hours. . .

Don't be fooled by the cuteness.  He is a little stinker.

Thank god Nanny showed up.  Things mellowed considerably.  And now, it appears the plague has moved onto Graham. 

Take me outside.

Sometimes I feel like we are always sick and have brief moments of wellness.  I swear they are fed well, get good sleep and are generally clean.  They go to a small daycare and rarely play in the contagion places like the kids museum or carousel.  What are we doing wrong?

Graham and his BFF, Nanny.

For our New Years, I took the boys and went to GF to spend time with Nanny, Dan, Uncle Bean, Faith (Doodie), and Treyson.  The boys played HARD, and had a blast.  Ed stayed home to work on the infinity garage.  I call it infinity garage because the work on it is never ending. 

He wanted to have his photo take with his new ball cannon.  It is VERY popular, but the boys have a hard time taking turns.

Developmental news on the boys:  Jr. is telling the most fascinating stories.  He has this great little imaginary life where he is married to Anabella, they have a baby, Frances, and somewhere between 5-10 cats that you can ride and they don't even get mad.  They live in a lovely purple and brick house near Paris.  He works in a place that has a lot of bears and he can watch zombie movies there.  My favorite was when we were in GF and I was trying to get Jr. to fall asleep in the bed with me, he told me that he and Anabella sleep with their baby and the baby kicks him all night IN THE NUTS!

Graham is talking.  He repeats the same words loudly!  Daddy!, Nanny!, Eddy!, Gaga (Virginia)!, NO!, Dog!, and sometimes, Mama!  He loves to dance and is quite the comedian.  He has to do everything his brother does.  I mean EVERYTHING.  It drives Jr. bonkers.  He constantly asks me - "why does Graham have to do everything I do?"  Because you are his favorite person.  Graham is all boy too.  Balls, blocks, guns, sticks, rocks, bugs and football.  He yells at the TV - "Go GO GO GO GO!"   It is super cute.

Oh and a happy belated birthday to Grandma Sheila.  We hope you had a wonderful cruise!  XOXOXO