Life of the Longley's

March Marches On

2011-03-31T08:01:00.000-05:00

Here comes April, and an update on the boys:

Coleman's new favorite dinner is butter. He wants it sliced up and served to him on his plate, and he will eat it straight. I think he does it for the reaction he gets from us. I'm just happy he's eating something because there have been many a nights he's gone to bed without eating. Dr. Steadman said it's normal for him to not eat a lot, but I can't believe with all of the energy he burns, that he isn't hungry!

Ethan has started doing a little bit of gibberish that have actually formed into words. He says all done, diaper, dada, mama, and makes the b sound over and over when he wants you to read him a book. Currently his favorite is "Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See." He wants to turn the pages when you're reading it to him, and he loves the last page because he can see all of the animals. He points to them, and I tell him what they are and have Coleman make their sound.

Coleman loves to be outside, and we're happy for him to be there. He runs around, plays with his toys and rolls in the dirt. Last time we were our there, he got in the little red car he has, and before he drove away said "Mama, tiss!" and then he puckered up. I went over, gave him a kiss, and then he drove away. Too cute!

He also managed to find the key to the lawn mower. Donny discovered it was missing and went searching for it, but had no luck finding it. He would ask Coleman where it was and Coleman would go to the same part of the yard every time, but I guess Donny didn't think he was being serious....until one evening Donny and Hayley actually looked under all of the leaves in that spot of the yard and found the key. First of all, Coleman was a little toot for hiding it! Second of all, how on earth did he remember where he put the key days after he did it?? When Donny found the key, they all gave each other high fives. Coleman was proud of himself!

On March 7th, both boys got two more teeth. Coleman got two of his molars, and Ethan got his top two front teeth. Now that we're at the end of March and his teeth are more in, I can tell he's going to have a little gap in between his two front teeth. It's the cutest thing I've EVER seen!!

One night, I was putting the boys in the bath. Coleman held his hand up, pointed to his palm and said "Mommy, boo boo." So I got closer and leaned in to kiss it when he popped me on the mouth. It reminded me so much of my college days when we would go to "The World Famous Bean" to eat. One of those lunches, one of my friends started sniffing his ice cream. He said to one of my other girlfriends "This ice cream smells funny, what do you think?" and held it out for her to smell. She leaned forward to smell it and he smashed it in her face. Now, I don't know if Coleman had it planned in his little head that he was going to do that, or if it was an impromptu thought, but after I got over being a little perturbed, I laughed.

The middle of March was my first time away from the boys ever. I had to go to a conference in New Orleans, and it made me really nervous to leave both boys with Donny. When I got to the airport, I was sad! I got a little teary eyed when we took off, but after that, I really did my best to enjoy the time I got to just be by myself! It was really nice, I have to admit. I just relaxed in the hotel, ate my dinner at a normal pace, and watched TV! I got to talk to the boys every night, and Donny even sent me some video of them to tide me over. Donny did great with the boys! He always seemed calm when I talked to him, not frazzled like I probably would have been. I have the best husband EVER!!

I do have to say, one thing good about me going away was that Donny doesn't give in like I do. He stuck to his plan of getting both boys to bed, and now, they are both so EASY to get to bed! I used to wrestle with Ethan for 30-45 minutes before I could get him to sleep. Now, we just feed him some oatmeal, give him his milk, put him in his crib, and he goes to sleep! Coleman has been pretty easy to put to bed for a while. He gives us both goodnight kisses, Donny reads him a book, puts him in his crib, and he goes to bed!

We also got a special visit from some of Donny's family. They drove down from Massachusetts and spent a few days with us. We had a great visit - relaxing, hanging out on the porch, and just spending time together. I know the visit was extra special to Donny because his Gramp got to come down and see where we live and all of the things that make up our daily life. We were so happy that their travel was safe, even though it was long! We sure missed everyone that couldn't come, too.

Ethan's 1 year checkup was yesterday. He is 32" tall (95%) and 23.2 lbs (51%). He got three shots and a prescription. Poor kid has had a runny nose for FOREVER! Dr. Steadman said it could be a chronic problem with his sinuses, so we have to give him antibiotics for two weeks to see if that clears it up. I hope it does. I can't imagine it would be comfortable to always have a runny nose! We go back in 3 months for another checkup.

And one of my favorite memories of March - Ethan has started giving kisses. Oh my gosh, the first time he did it, I thought I would cry! For some reason it was a particularly hard day for me. I was holding him and playing with him. I puckered up and approached his face. He looked at me, opened his mouth and met me half way. SO PRECIOUS!! So he still hasn't gotten the pucker thing down, but the gesture is priceless. I love that kid!

Happy April Everyone!

Happy Birthday Ethan!!

2011-03-01T17:56:00.004-06:00

My Dearest Ethan!

Time flies when you're having fun! This year has literally left my head spinning. You arrived all battered and bruised - you had a black eye, a broken collar bone and a bump the size of a goose egg on your head! You were colicky and had a weak suck - so much so that you started to lose weight, and I started to lose my mind! All of these little things were hurdles you had to face in your first year of life. We stuck it out, though, and made some fun memories while we were at it. We became a team, you and I! While the outcome of your trials (which quickly became my trials, too) wasn't always what I wanted it be, the hours we spent bonding (a.k.a. tube feeding and bouncing on the exercise ball) became an important part of my my life! I loved you even before I laid eyes on you, and with each hurdle we crossed, my love grew stronger! So here we are, one year later, and I can't imagine life without you.

A few observations about your personality: You seem to know when to pick your battles. At first I thought you were a little bit of a push over, always readily giving Coleman the toys he tried to take from you. It was when I saw you fight back for the first time I realized that you did, indeed, know what you wanted and would fight for it, but you also knew how to let the little stuff go. It's a trait your father has, and by far the one I admire most about you both.

You are for sure a mama's boy! We spent most of your first year inseparable. If it weren't for me having to work, I think I might have just had you sewn on my hip. There were many, many evenings after work, Saturdays, and Sundays that I toted you around in the baby bjoern just so I could get some stuff done! You enjoyed observing the world around you at the height of my waist, and for the most part I was happy to oblige.

From the get go, we did things different with you. Coleman's paci was taken away at 6 months, yours at 10. We made Coleman start crying it out at 6 months, you at 10. Admittedly, we were in survival mode, doing whatever we could to make it through another day with two babies to take care of. But on the toughest of days, all I had to hear was your laugh, see your smile, or even think of you doing both, and my day was instantly better. You are one of a kind, and I love you with ALL of my heart!! I can't wait to watch you grow up and see the man that you become. You mean more to me than anything!

With all of my love,

Mama

To my little boy on his first Birthday-

What can I say, you are amazing, and I couldn't imagine a day without you. You have taught me what patience really is, and how you can make it all better with that wonderful smile of yours. I can't believe how much you have tested your Mother and I, but I wouldn't change a second of it (well maybe all that time I spent bouncing on that darn ball). I can't wait to teach you the joys of life and to explore all it has to offer. I look forward to our camping trips, cruising in the Jeep, and causing a little mischief with your brother.

We are going to have fun.

I Love you Ethan

-Dad

On Top Of The World

2011-02-28T20:24:00.009-06:00

February came, and February went. Wow, that was fast! Here are a few short stories of things that left me feeling like I'm living life on top of the world!

We've been trying to teach Coleman how to blow his nose. I put the Kleenex up to his nose and say "blow!" He sucks in. I say "No, blow! The other way!" So he turns his head the other way and sucks in. I got a good laugh out of that one!

February began with what will go down in history in Abilene as the "Snow storm of 2011." We were stuck in our house for four full days with nothing but our creative little minds to keep us entertained. Coleman loved looking at the "no" (snow) but when it came to playing in it he wanted nothing to do with it. It took me 30 minutes to get us all three bundled up to go outside. We stayed outside for about 5 seconds, when he decided to stick his hand in the "no." His reaction? A good LOUD scream because it was so cold!! I'd say the 30 minutes of bundling was worth it so I didn't have to stand out there long! One morning we built a fort. Coleman stayed in it for a little bit because Maggie was going to "choo choo" (get you!) From there, we decided to play with some post-its. Coleman put them all over me and Ethan. After we did all of that, it was only 8:30 in the morning! We made it through, though, with only a mild case of cabin fever.

My favorite couple of things Coleman is saying right now are "Hi Mama!" and "Choo choo Mama!" It's not so much that he's saying them, but how he's saying them. When I pick him up from daycare, his "Hi Mama!" is so excited and is usually accompanied by a HUGE hug. His "choo choo Mama!" is just as excited. It makes me smile.

Ethan can chow down on some green beans. Right now, he usually eats a whole can. He's not been a very picky eater, but he'll choose green beans over most any other foods all the time. My girlfriends came in town and one of them asked (as I got a can of green beans out to give him for a snack) if I was going to be one of those moms that only gave my kids healthy snacks. While I'd like to think my children will be healthy eaters, Ethan does it by choice.

The quiet moments in the house have become moments I dread. Coleman is sneakier than ever. Two times when the house was really quiet, I found him up to no good! The first time I found him in Ethan's room in the corner, under Ethan's jumperoo with a tube of mascara trying to apply it like lip gloss. The other time, we found him with a sharpie drawing on our wall. I never really understood how that could happen, but here we are, with four hours of work to clean up our toddlers art work. I must say, though, he drew a pretty good face...at least that's what I think that is!

Ethan isn't walking just yet. He seems to be quite content being carried around everywhere. I'm trying to practice with him, but a lot of times he won't have it. He'll walk holding my hands for a few seconds, then he plops right down, looks up at me and holds his hands up. If we're at the house, I usually won't pick him up. I make him crawl after us to hopefully make him want to walk. Now that the weather has been nicer, I'm anxious for him to start because I want him to be able to play outside with his brother! I can't wait!

Since Ethan is almost one, we're trying to ween him off of his bottle. We're completely finished with bottles during the day, but I have to admit that the bottle right before bed, and the bottle we give him right when he wakes up are going to be hard to break him of. When I say him, I really mean us, too. It's easy to give him a bottle, put him in bed with us and go back to sleep. When we get rid of that feeding, we'll have to actually get up out of bed and make him breakfast. Not that I am completely opposed, but man it's been nice to be able to sleep later than 5:30!

This past weekend was Ethan's birthday party. Things didn't go quite as planned because both boys tested positive for strep and Ethan tested positive for the flu. It was the weirdest thing, though, because neither boy acted sick or had fever. The only reason we took them in was because they had a greenish discharge coming from their eyes. I thought for sure it was just allergies, but the Dr. gave us a surprise. I was really bummed because poor Ethan was going to have to miss his party! Then, we came up with the brilliant idea of skyping in! It wasn't the same as being there to celebrate with the family, but we still had fun. Keeping with our family tradition, I was going to make the cake. Since I wasn't going to be there, obviously I couldn't make the cake, but Friday morning, I was bound and determined to make Emily a smash cake. Since the theme was bugs, I made Emily a ladybug cake and Ethan a bumble bee cake. I was proud of the way they turned out, and Ethan's tasted great, too! Ethan got several outfits, some pajamas, and some toys. I'd say he made out pretty good.

The family's view from Skype

This past weekend, Coleman saw a shirt box that one of Ethan's gifts came in. He immediately associated that white box with "donduts" and that was all he wanted. I've had the worst kind of sweet tooth lately, so we loaded up in our pajamas and headed to get some "donduts." I must admit that donuts go great with the coffee made from my new keurig coffee maker that my wonderful mother-in-law got me! Best gift ever!

And one final story before I close the chapter of "February 2011." I was changing Ethan's diaper back in his room and Coleman came back and said "Daddy beat!" I said "Did you get a spankin?" He replied "Nup!" (yep/yes) I said "Coleman, I don't think you got a spankin. Are you lying?" My two year old thought for a minute and replied with a "ROOOOOAAAAARRRR!" He must have thought I said LION. :)

Hello 2011!

2011-01-30T12:02:00.007-06:00

With 2011 in full swing, there hasn't been much time for blogging. Don't worry, though, I've been keeping tabs on the fun stuff the kids have been doing, so here's my update for January 2011.

Coleman and Ethan have each gotten one more tooth. Ethan now has a whopping 2, and Coleman has 16.

The beginning of January, Ethan got moved up to the kittens class. He's still in the nursery, but he's with the older kids now. They said he just seemed to be bored in the other class room. He hasn't had the separation anxiety that Coleman had, and sometime still has. He's just happy as can be when I drop him off. He's also really happy, though, when he sees me coming to pick him up. He sits there and flaps his arms like a bird wanting me to come pick him up. His smile is just huge, and I love it!

Trains have been Coleman's new obsession lately. He loves seeing the train that goes through town. He yells CHOO CHOO!! when he sees it. I quickly, however, learned that "choo choo" can mean many things. For instance, "Dada, choo choo" means, Dada, I'm going to get you! It is also a polite saying. When we give Coleman something (and with a little prompting) he says "choo choo!" which means thank you. We were in Kirklands today and the sales lady had just finished telling me about a number I could call on my receipt. Coleman pipes up with "choo choo!" I don't know if he was saying "Thank you" or if he saw a train somewhere, so I just went with it. The sales lady said what a good boy he was. I completely agree....most of the time.

Coleman also likes to play "train." I found him and Ethan crawling down the hallway the other day, Coleman in front of Ethan, trying to get him to follow, saying Choo Choo! Coleman also likes to get behind his brother and hold on to his shoulders while we're practicing his walking and say choo choo!

Coleman's new food is peanut butter. He LOVES toast with peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter crackers, etc. Usually what he he does is licks the peanut butter off, and on a good day he'll eat the bread afterwards. I'm glad we've found something that he likes now (besides pizza)!

We are really happy to announce that the Longley household has been paci free for a couple of weeks now! We started weening Ethan from it the beginning of January, and finally took it away for good the Friday before MLK day. He's done great, actually. The worst part was the Saturday after we took it away. He was pretty fussy all day, but we made it through, and now we don't have to worry all the time about having one with us, or what we're going to do if we forget the paci clip and it falls on the floor. YAY!!

A few new words being used around here include bean (for plane) and beat (for spank)...WHAT? Yeah, that's right, anytime I spank him, he runs to Dad and says "Mama beat!" Same for if Donny spanks him, he runs to me and says "Dada beat!" We'll have to work on that so CPS doesn't come knocking. He also loves to run around chasing the dogs and saying "Dogs!" except that his version of Dogs sounds kind of like Sid on the move "Ice Age." (For my speech path friends, I believe you would call it a lateral lisp.)

Ethan still says "dada" but has also said "moo" and "uh uh" (as in no) a few times too. He likes to imitate the dogs. When they bark, he screams the same number of times they barked. He's keyed into a few words and what they mean as well. For example, tonight I said "Ethan, ready to go night night?" He took of crawling the opposite way. Smart kiddo. However, he has no clue what "NO" means. Either does Coleman, for that matter!

Tonight was the first time I really felt ganged up on by the boys. They were in the bath tub and Ethan started kicking and splashing. I said "Ethan, NO!" Coleman looked at me, gave me a grin and started doing the same thing. I kept saying NO NO NO! But they kept on going and going. I finally had to let the water out of the tub to get them to stop. Even though I was soaking wet and a little mad, I couldn't help but laugh.

We've been so excited to have one of my old college roommates and her husband and kids move back to Abilene. Cooper, their youngest, is two months older than Coleman and is in Coleman's class at Rainbow. They joined our church and our small group too. It's been really nice to have another couple to hang out with, and has kids around the same age.

I'm anxiously awaiting my sweet baby's first birthday. I can't believe he's almost one! I know, I bet that comes out of every mother's mouth. Lindsay and I decided to have Ethan and Emily's first birthday together, so I ditched the train theme. We had to go with something gender neutral, so we're having a "bug" party. I'm going to make a caterpillar cake, and we're going to have all sorts of bug snacks. It's going to be fun!

So that's all for January 2011. Hope it was a great one for everyone else!

See Ya Later 2010!

2010-12-31T20:17:00.001-06:00

The Longley's are leaving 2010 behind in search of a brighter, more fun 2011, if that's possible. However, before we say "adios" for good, I have to finish telling everyone about the fun stuff of December 2010.

1) SHHHHH. Coleman says this now when he knows his brother is asleep. It's cute, though, because instead of holding his finger up against his mouth perpendicular to his nose, he holds it parallel across the width of his lips. It never fails, too, that when Ethan is asleep he says "shhhh" only to be followed by a loud scream right as we're walking by Ethan's door.

2) Ethan is finally crawling on all fours. He started this at the very beginning of December and is quite the little mover now. Instead of hearing him cry for me in the other room, he just follows me around like a little ducky whining. :) It's also fun to watch him chase after Coleman. Coleman will also get down and crawl with Ethan. I'll just say this could be the beginning of a very beautiful thing!

3) I've been trying to teach Coleman his colors, but no matter how many times I tell him something is green, every time I ask him, he says it's "lellow." Either he's really color blind, or I'm a bad teacher. :)

4) On December 20, Ethan got his first tooth. Let the 12/31/2010 tooth count show Coleman at 15, Ethan at 1.

5) Coleman loves announcing when he's about to get a boo boo. He'll say "uh oh" as many times as it takes for you to look at him, and then he'll fall on the ground and say "uh oh!" Boy does he love attention!

6) Ethan had his 9 month well check the other day. He checked in at 30.5 inches (95%) and 21.7 lbs. (60%). He has quite the little appetite and will eat anything you put in front of him. He's had a variety of foods including lots of bread, green beans, mashed potatoes, bananas, chicken spaghetti, and I'm sure a lot more foods I can't think of. He seems like a really big baby to me. I will admit that I get a little sad when I rock him to sleep now. He doesn't feel like a baby anymore in my arms. Pretty soon I'll be planning his 1st birthday party. I haven't made up my mind for sure, but I'm pretty sure it will be a choo choo train theme.

7) 2010 wouldn't be complete without the first accident in the tub. I was bathing the boys and all of a sudden Coleman is holding something in front of my face. For some reason he decided pooping in the tub sounded fun. UGH!

8) Coleman's vocabulary continuously increases. I can't always make out exactly what he's saying, but when he pairs it with a gesture, I hear him loud and clear. For example it sounded like he was saying "cheench." Me: "What??" Him: "Cheench!" Me: "WHAT?" Him: "CHEENCH!" as he bends over and smells Maggie's butt. Me: "Oh, stinks! Gotcha!!"

My favorite is when he says Ethan. It sounds like this: "Ee-Un." LOVE IT!

For my final 2010 blog, here's some fun video of Coleman playing his new guitar:

And some video of Coleman and Ethan's new pastime:

I love how the wheel has been strategically positioned so that Coleman is driving in a large circle. I have a feeling they could do that for hours before either of them got bored. Hmmmmmmmmm...

Alright 2011, bring it!

Highlights of Christmas

2010-12-29T06:54:00.004-06:00

I can't believe December is almost over. I can't believe 2011 is almost here!

Christmas was great. We drove from Dallas to Nacogdoches, to Jacksonville, back to Dallas, then back to Abilene. The boys did GREAT in the car, I really couldn't believe that out of all of the hours we spent in the car from 12/22 to 12/26 (12 would be a good estimate) that all I heard was a max of 30 minutes of crying...maybe.

Why all the traveling? Well, we went to Nacogdoches to see my Grandmother who was recently moved out there by my Aunt and Uncle, who also moved out there to be closer to my cousin and her family. It was nice to see my Grandmother. She was more awake than I've seen her in a while and the new nursing home seemed great. She managed to get out an "I love you too" in response to my I love you, so my Christmas was awesome. Coleman really hammed it up around the old ladies. He ran around giving high fives to anyone that asked, and I have to say, probably made their day. He also gave Grandma several kisses and patted her arm a lot. Ethan, of course, is still too little to know what's going on, but it was nice for her to get to see him. With all the kiddos running around I said "Grandma, what do you think about all of this??" She just gave a little chuckle. I have to admit, I was really doubting my family moving her, but the nursing home does seem nicer and I have a greater peace about her move.

Because Nacogdoches is 3 hours from Dallas, we decided 6 hours in the car in one day was too much, so we headed to Jacksonville, where my Brother-in-laws family lives. They graciously allowed us to stay there, even though their whole family was in town. There were 8 kids there! Coleman had a blast running around and playing in the "tickle room" with the other kids. We had a great time getting to know John's siblings and seeing where he grew up.

We left Jacksonville and headed back to Dallas. Coleman, Ethan and I hung out at my Mom's (aka Crazy Gran's) until it was time to head to Lindsay's for Christmas eve pizza and a sad attempt at playing games. I guess when you have a group that big, it's a little hard. Coleman ran around with Braden, and Ethan and Emily hung out and played with each other. We headed home around 8 and tucked the kids in bed.

Christmas morning we had waffles and all got ready to head over to Lindsay's to see what Santa brought us. Here's a quick run down for both boys: a couple of toys, clothes, and lots of books! I got clothes money, some shoes that I wanted, and one of my favorite candles (I know most girls say they love candles, but I really really LOVE candles! Something about the smell and look relaxes me). Donny got a laptop. We ate lunch, and after most of the family filed out, we stuck around and played games. Our family hasn't really been a big game playing family, but we had a great time.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

2010-12-18T20:20:00.003-06:00

Coleman,

We made it, you're two! There were times I started to wonder whether or not we could do it (on more than one or two or three occasions you gave me a run for my money!!), but here we are, brother in tow and all! I love you so much! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Photos by Trisha Riggs Photography

Family Pictures

2010-12-13T06:54:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we finally managed to get our family pictures taken. We started off the day pretty good, everyone was happy. Nap time came around and Ethan went down, but Coleman wasn't having it. He screamed and jumped in his crib for about 10 minutes, then fell asleep. He only slept for about an hour, which is about an hour shy of what he usually sleeps. When he woke up, he was NOT in a good mood! He got put in time out several times within the hour, and even got a couple of spankings. We finally managed to get both kids dressed and out the door (this was an achievement in itself!). Once we got to the park where we were going to take the pictures, everyone seemed happy again. The photographer showed up, and about 45 minutes into taking pictures, Coleman and Ethan were done. Any of you that have kids know how hard it can be to get two kids to smile at the same time. Especially two as young as ours. Aunt Hayley came and stood behind the photographer to try to get both boys to look and smile. She danced and acted crazy! That's probably the only reason we got any of the boys looking at the camera! at all We didn't get the best one of all four of us, but we got lots of GREAT individual ones! :) The photographer was Trisha Riggs. She's just started her photography business and does a great job! Below are some of the pictures that I didn't use on our Christmas card. Hope y'all enjoy!

To Tell You The Truth

2010-12-06T20:50:00.006-06:00

To tell you the truth, I've been putting off blogging for about as long as I can. I don't know what's gotten into me, but writing down the happenings of the Longley household has become another chore on my to do list. So here goes, all so I can cross it off my list of "things to do."

Coleman's vocabulary is slowly but surely growing. He loves running around the house saying "Beet Beet" with his new cars and trucks. Anytime he hears the train going through town, he says "choo choo!" And anytime he hears a plane flying over head, he puts his hand out like it's an airplane and goes "shhhhhh" to try to imitate the noise. He also now says "yes" in his own little way instead of no all the time. If you ask him if he wants some milk and he does, he says "up" which I think he's saying "yep." Instead of just signing please, he will actually say "eese." After he finishes eating, he will point over near the sink and say "hand" which means he wants his hands wiped off. He also loves to point at the TV and say "BeBo" which means "Elmo." And finally, I'm not real sure where he got this, but he says "Wut" anytime he sees a truck.

If Coleman's vocabulary is growing, Ethan's body is growing just as fast. At 9 months old, we can no longer squeeze him into his car seat. I finally went and bought another one that goes from 5-100 lbs. I'm not sure why we didn't start out with this one except that you can't remove it from your car like you can a regular car seat. Anyway, Donny has installed it tonight, so I'm happy that I can put Ethan in it while he's wearing his new jacket we got him.

Coleman, over the past couple of weeks, got three new teeth and is working on a fourth. Seems like they're all coming in at once. The three teeth managed to come in the week he had 104* fever. That was the week before Thanksgiving. The week of Thanksgiving, I got sick (hence no pictures, no blog). The week after Thanksgiving, Donny and Ethan got sick. Yes, we all dropped like flies, four in a row. We're all better now, so bring on more teeth!

Since this past Thanksgiving was Ethan's first, I guess I should mention that he thoroughly enjoyed his baby food meal of turkey and mixed veggies, and twice baked sweet potatoes. :) We spent it here with my Mom, Papa Joe, and my good friend Jessica. We didn't eat around a table, like normal families. We sat and watched Elmo (Bebo.) I'm not going to lie, it was easier to watch Elmo and keep Coleman from hanging on me than it was to do anything else. I felt bad, but I guess since I was sick and he wouldn't go to anyone else, I'll cut myself some slack.

This past weekend was Colemans 2nd birthday party. Invitations were ordered 4 weeks ago, but never showed up, so a last minute evite was the best I could do. I was worried that with such short notice no one would be able come, but we actually had a really good turnout. Pretty much my whole family came, along with a couple of in town friends. Those that couldn't come were missed. :( Coleman got so many toys it was ridiculous, but he also got clothes and books. It was a great time! Here are some pictures from the day. I have to admit, I forgot to ask someone to be the photographer, so I don't have many. :(

Ethan has been sleeping like a champ still (knock on wood.) Donny and I are actually getting uninterrupted sleep for the first time in NINE LONG MONTHS!! All I have to say is THANK YOU LORD! Here's a picture of me and my sweet baby after a full night of sleep.

Ethan has also started to pull up to his feet. One morning the week of Thanksgiving I was getting Coleman dressed. He likes to run away from me when I have all of his clothes off. So I was amusing him and chasing after him. At one point I stopped to do something and when I went to get him, I couldn't find him. I was in our laundry room when I heard a door slam. I ran back to the back of the house and heard giggling coming from Ethan's room. When I opened the door, I saw Ethan standing up in his crib looking down at Coleman, and Coleman standing up on the crib rails looking up at Ethan. They were both giggling at each other. It was so cute! We moved his mattress down that night. He's only pulled up one other time that I know of. I want to start working with him on walking, but I feel like he needs to get to a full fledged crawl before he walks. As of now he's still army crawling with two arms and a leg. The other leg just dangles behind him. I think I'll ask our Doctor about that in December if he hasn't started crawling on all fours by then.

Okay, so that's my novel on everything that's happened the past few weeks. I'm sure the Christmas spirit will move me to keep up with my blogging a little better since I'll get to post fun pictures with Santa and all the fun stuff that comes along with that. Until then!

So Cute!

2010-11-22T21:55:00.005-06:00

Christmas and Birthday came a little early to Coleman this year thanks to Aunt Hayley and Uncle Jeff. Coleman has been fascinated with boots ever since he saw them. A couple of the guys in our small group have some that have color at the top. Coleman loves to pull their pant leg up to see them. So when Hayley asked what was on his wish list, boots immediately came to mind.

Hayley and I headed out with Coleman to find said boots. We wanted him to try them on because Coleman inherited my fat feet. We have a hard time getting regular 'ol tennis shoes to fit him! So we found this pair of John Deere boots, absolutely the cutest stinking things I've ever seen! We got them on Coleman and put him down to walk around in them. At first he walked all stiff legged because he wasn't sure what to think about having something up around his ankle. When he got used to them, he wouldn't take them off. No, really, he would NOT take them off...not even to sleep!!

Now, I'm not really the kind of mom that gives out Christmas and Birthday presents early. Coleman got lucky on this one. It's hard to spend the kind of money on these boots that Aunt Hayley did without him getting every single day of use out of them that he can. It'll also be nice that his little brother can wear them when he outgrows them. Every morning, Coleman can't wait to get these on. He'll bring them over to me and say "boot!" (sometimes it comes out "boob" but I know what he means! haha!)

This past weekend, Ethan got his first real haircut! He did great. The only part he was unsure of was the neck and side burn trimming. I'm not real sure why they do that on a baby, but whatever. He looked so cute when they finished cutting his hair. I took the BEST "after" picture, but I'm saving it for the Christmas card, so be on the lookout!

And finally, I have to share one of my all time favorite pictures of Donny and Coleman:

I mean, HOW CUTE IS THAT?!?!?! Melts my heart.

If Momma Ain't Happy

2010-11-20T06:23:00.003-06:00

You all know the saying, "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Whoever said this probably didn't have kids. I believe the saying should go - "If the babies aren't happy, Momma ain't happy. If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" At least, this was our experience this past week.

It's November now, so I guess in a way I should have expected it. October, to me, is the most wonderful time of the year, but I guess it was the calm before the storm. You see, when the cold weather starts rolling into Texas, it doesn't really stay. It goes from cold to hot to cold to hot on any given day in any given hour. It doesn't want to make up it's mind that it's winter and it just needs to stay cold. It's hard on my body, so I can only imagine how Coleman and Ethan's little bodies adjust to the weather changes.

This past week, Coleman has been really sick. His fever went up to 104.2, and he keeps saying "owie." We waited it out a couple of days dosing him with a cocktail of Motrin and Tylenol, but by Thursday, we said enough is enough, time to go see Dr. Steadman. So Donny trekked on up to the office with Coleman in tow. Coleman HATES the Dr. office (probably as much as he hates getting his haircut...story to follow.) An hour and a half, one strep test and one flue test later, the verdict was sinus problems...the Dr. thinks.

Ethan has managed to stay well throughout everything, (knock on wood!) He has not been happy, though, that my attention has been on Coleman most of the time. He cries and cries when Coleman is in my lap and he is sitting next to us. It's not the big tears cry, it's just the whiny cry that kind of drives me MAD!

The good news is, the week is over. THANK THE LORD!! Coleman is on an antibiotic, and Ethan can spend more time in my arms instead of next to me, though I'm not sure I want him to. I think he needs to be able to hang out next to me and be just fine. I'll have to work on that!

Things are also looking up because Ethan has now slept through the night for FOUR nights in a row. I thought twice about writing this because last time he did that and I wrote about it, I jinxed myself and he did not sleep through the night again until four nights ago. I feel confident that we will no longer have to get up with him, though, because we are starting the process of letting him cry it out. Four nights ago was the first night. I have to say, that child is persistent, but we won!! He cried for 45 minutes to an hour, and then went to sleep. YAY!!

Even though Ethan has slept through the night, it doesn't mean we haven't still been up. Coleman, since he was sick, has been up almost every night that Ethan slept through the night. HAHA! I can only laugh, or else I would cry. We'll get there, I just have to keep telling myself that.

So yesterday was supposed to be our family pictures. Obviously we had to cancel, but a friend of Hayley's is coming to the rescue by taking our pictures today. She isn't professional, but she has a great camera, so I'm sure we'll get some good shots for the Christmas card which I have been so anxiously awaiting to pick out and send.

I have so much more I want to blog about, but the kiddos are waking up. I'm going to leave you with a couple of my favorite pictures taken in the last week or so. I SO love my little babies!!

Me and Coleman before Church one morning.

I just LOVE this smile!! Especially when it's accompanied by Ethan's little laugh. It is infectious!

Aunt Hayley coloring with and stealing a kiss from Coleman.

Crawling!

2010-11-10T20:22:00.003-06:00

Ethan's on his way to crawling! As you can tell he's not very happy about it, but we're thrilled and very proud parents!! At first, Coleman didn't really understand the concept, so when we put Ethan's toy away from him and he started to cry, Coleman would go get the toy and hand it to him (Sweet boy!) or take it, which made Ethan cry harder (little stinker!) Either way, I don't think it'll be long before we have to break out the baby gate again.

As I mentioned in my other blog, Coleman has been getting M&M's for sitting on the potty. I have gotten somehow coerced to sit on the potty without giving him M&M's only once. All tee tee tries have been unsuccessful. I think he's learning, though, where tee tee goes. The video below is usually what happens when Coleman has too many M&M's.

Christmas Cards!

2010-11-09T21:37:00.004-06:00

Another reason I love October is because it's time to start thinking about Christmas cards. I get an appointment with our favorite photographer, pick out my favorite Shutterfly Christmas card and coordinate our outfits so when it's all said and done, the card is perfect! Ever since I ordered Ethan's birth announcements from Shutterfly, I don't think I'll be able to get them from anywhere else! The quality was amazing and I got so many comments on how cute the design was. They have a new 2010 holiday collection, so I've been in the process of perusing to see which one I like the best. It's such a hard decision to make because they're all really cute! In addition to the cards, I also love getting my new calendar ready. I have a lot of pictures for 2011 to put on there! I love that you can add photos and text to each calendar day. I guess there will be no excuses this year for why you didn't get your birthday card! >:) Be expecting your Longley Christmas card soon!

Sweet Stuff

2010-11-04T20:04:00.003-05:00

Coleman has been going through a phase where he won't eat much. I don't know if he doesn't like what we're giving him, or he's just not hungry. I think we have finally found some things he will eat though:

CUPCAKES:

We went to a birthday party this past Saturday and Coleman really enjoyed his cupcake. The mother of the birthday boy informed me that on Friday, they brought cupcakes up to school for the kids to eat. Coleman ate one, and then helped himself to another! I can't imagine what kind of a mood he was in after that. He usually gets really hyper, and then really cranky.

M&Ms:

I've been doing a little bribing to get Coleman to sit on the potty. It was not my intention at first, I originally was only going to reward him if he went tee tee, but I quickly realized that to even get him to sit on the potty was going to require a treat of some sort. I have to hand it to him, that kid is no fool! Lucky for him I'm kind of a push over. So I busted out the M&M's that Aunt Meagan sent us for Halloween. The first night I put him on the potty while Ethan was in the tub splashing around. He enjoyed the time on the potty, but as soon as I ran out of M&Ms, he was done. He got in the bath tub and went tee tee. :( Last night I said Coleman, want to go potty? He quickly shook his head no. I brought out the M&Ms and said "Coleman, want to go potty?" He promptly shook his head yes and went and sat down. He ate the whole package, but no tee tee in the potty yet. I guess we'll keep trying, but I'm not really sure he's ready yet. We'll see.

Some other sweet stuff:

Coleman is now into giving the "thumbs up" instead of high five or anything else. He rides around on his little tricycle while he and Dad are outside, yells "DADDY!! DADDY!!" When Donny looks over, he gives him the thumbs up and rides away. Here's a picture of his "thumbs up" but before you say anything or report us to CPS, I can assure no children were harmed in the taking of this picture. In fact, he kind of liked it down there!

Here's a couple of pictures of brother time. Coleman and Ethan really enjoy each other. A lot of times when they are playing together, Coleman will give Ethan a hug and a kiss. Ethan laughs at Coleman a lot. It's exactly what I envisioned when we decided to have Ethan.

This picture makes me laugh. Ethan looks a little nervous about Coleman putting it in gear. :) This was at the party mentioned above that was supposed to be a costume party. Ethan was a trooper. Coleman, not so much. So we have Robin and...and...a red sox fan?

And have I mentioned how much Ethan likes puffs?? His favorite are the sweet potato ones. When we're all eating dinner, I usually put some puffs in front of him and he goes to town. He's a lot better at actually getting them in his mouth, now. I try to slip some baby food in between bites of puffs, but he's usually shoving them in so fast I can't get him to eat his green beans! I guess he'll be a carb man like his brother.

And other oh so exciting news, Ethan is sick again. It's been two weeks, so I guess it's about that time. :( We had a babysitter come over on Tuesday. Wednesday she let me know she was sick and today she told me that she had the flu. I really hope Ethan doesn't get the flu. Poor baby! Should make for a fun weekend!

Eight Months Old

2010-11-01T21:41:00.003-05:00

Ethan is eight months old today!! If I remember correctly, when Coleman turned 8 months, all of the fun started happening. You could really see his personality come through. He started crawling, then walking, etc. I'm really looking forward to Ethan hitting all of those fun milestones in the next few months, but I'm also really enjoying watching him get there. Such a sweet little boy. I love you Ethan!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-10-27T20:26:00.008-05:00

Forget December and Christmas, I think October is the most wonderful time of the year. It's starting to cool off, the weather is just perfect, actually! It's great for being outside, having cookouts, etc. A couple of weekends ago, we decided to take advantage of the weather and go camping!

The weekend was planned well in advance with my two sisters, niece, nephew, and brother-in-laws. We loaded up the car (just because we were camping by no means meant that we were going to "rough it") and headed out to Brownwood, TX. Rain was in the forecast, but that wasn't going to stop us from getting at least one night of camping in! Donny met most everyone out there early and set up our tent. By the time Hayley, Ethan and I joined the group, it was time for hot dogs. The rest of the night was spent watching the kids play in the dirt, feeding the babies, and by the time bed time rolled around the camp fire was roaring hot for story time. The kiddos went to bed and the adults had some time to catch up, have a few drinks and just hang out. The next morning, we had pancakes and bacon. They were the best pancakes I've had in a really long time!! We headed out to the lake, but it was cold and pretty windy, so we didn't spend much time out there. Back at the camp site, we relaxed, watched the kids play some more, and took naps in the hammock (my favorite part besides the night time camp fire!). All was well until around 1:00 Saturday afternoon when the rain hit. At first it wasn't that bad. We planned on sticking it out and dealing with a little mud until the little bit of rain turned into a down-poor and our tent started leaking. Even then, staying was still up in the air. The tornado watch was what really made our decision for us. We packed up, soaking wet and all, and headed back to Abilene. Even with the rain, we all had such a great time. All we can think of next is "When can we go again?!?" Here are some pictures from the first annual Legler camping trip:

Another reason October is the most wonderful time of the year is Halloween. This has to be my favorite holiday out of them all. You don't have the hassle of buying presents for everyone (did I say hassle? Errrr, I meant privilege!) and you don't have to cook a feast for everyone. All you have to do is get dressed and buy some candy. This year was especially fun for me because I had two little boys to dress up, and I am thoroughly enjoying the fact that neither one of them cares what they are going to be for Halloween. This means I could dress them up as Strawberry Shortcake and a Fairy Princess and all it would do is get me a few weird looks. Coleman and Ethan will be happy, in the future, to know that I opted for the super hero route, I'm sure. After much thought and looking around, I decided on Batman and Robin. This morning as I got the boys in their costumes, I was cracking up! Coleman was not having any of it until I started singing the Batman song and he started giggling. Then when Ethan got up and we put his costume on, Coleman had fun poking him in the eyes. I'm not sure what it was about Ethan's mask that made Coleman want to do this, but it put him in a better mood. No eyes were harmed, so all was well with the world. Here are some pictures of the boys in their costumes:

October is also fun because it's when I start planning Coleman's birthday party. I've been scouring the internet since August looking for ideas and have finally decided that Coleman will turn 2 Monster Truck style! I'll be making the cake again this year. Hopefully cake number 2 will turn just as good, or better than cake number one. By the time I finish planning Coleman's second party, it'll be time for Ethan's first birthday. Time sure is going to fly these next couple of months.

Here are some other random things that have been going on:

Coleman has morphed the words "stop" and "nope" into "nop" and says it all the time. It's kind of catchy. I think I'll start using it on Donny. :)

We got Ethan a high chair just like Coleman's and he loves it!! He sat there the entire dinner time in his seat and chowed down on puffs.

Ethan's well check was on Tuesday. He weighed 18 lbs, 12 oz (50th percentile) and was 28.5 inches long (95th percentile...WOAH!!) I guess that explains why is 9 month pajamas are getting to be too small. He had to get some shots. After the first prick, he started the cry that starts out really quiet because they haven't taken the big breath right before the blood curdling scream. He actually started to turn purple, but he finally got a big breath and let it all out. He was not happy!

Hope everyone has a safe and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Ethan

2010-10-11T20:23:00.004-05:00

I haven't taken the time to do a lot of blogging like I used to. I especially haven't taken the time to blog about Ethan like I did about Coleman. I don't want him, when he gets older, to read the first year of my blogging, and then read the second year and feel like I wasn't fair. Trust me, I'm the 3rd of four kids, I know how it is!! :)

I think when you get pregnant with baby number two, you always wonder, will I love this one as much as my first? I was so overflowing with love for Coleman that I knew there would be plenty to go around. I had visions of our boys running around the back yard, playing in the mud, helping Dad work on his jeep. Oddly enough, I don't think I ever day dreamed of having a little girl to play dress up with or teach to cook. I think God knew little boys would be best for us. There's absolutely no doubt that I love Ethan just as much as Coleman, but for so many different reasons. They are two very different little boys! So here I am, making sure I take the time to share my little moments with Ethan, just like I did with Coleman.

Tonight before I put Ethan to bed, he was fighting his sleep. He always does this, he'll start drinking his bottle, realize he's falling asleep and spit it out so he will wake up a little. When he finally lets sleep take over, he will drink until he passes out, and then turn in for me to put him on my shoulder. He'll sleep like that for a little while before I put him in bed. That's my favorite time of the night. I love hearing him breathe his little breaths and love how his hair smells - clean and of baby magic. He lets a little snort out, rubs his eyes and I know it's time to lay him in his crib. I lay him on his belly, he crunches up to where he's kind of on his side and goes back to sleep. As a side note, he did not sleep through the night last night. :(

I mentioned in my last post about how cute his laugh is, but really, it's cute. When I have a rough day or I'm missing him, I just think about his little laugh. Right before he is about to laugh, he gets a little smile and tries to hold it in. When he actually does laugh, it looks like it's going to be a huge one, but he lets a tiny little "he he" out. I just LOVE it!

He is such a mama's boy, too. I put him on the floor next to me and was playing with him after dinner tonight. Coleman came and sat on my lap and Ethan started crying and reaching for me. It made me smile knowing that he feels that attachment to me. He loves his dad, too, though. Donny can make him smile so easy! He makes crazy noises or faces and that little toothless grin is right there watching.

Anyway, I just wanted to take the time to write about Ethan. I can't imagine God giving Coleman a better play mate, and Donny and I a better second born son. He's just awesome!!

Life Just Got A Little Easier - The Sequel

2010-10-10T19:58:00.007-05:00

Fun stuff is going on at the Longley household! Before I talk about the new stuff Ethan and Coleman are doing, I have to show a picture of Ethan's first haircut. Like Coleman's very first hair cut, I cut it because I got sick of it being in his eyes. I wasn't ready for a real barber shop cut for him just yet. I guess the next one he'll have to be done professionally because while it doesn't look that bad, it's not the best and I can't have him looking all funny for our family pictures! :)

So here's the fun new stuff: Ethan has started holding his own bottle. I know, probably not that exciting to you guys, but I'm ecstatic! This frees my extra hand up to drink coffee in the morning, or rub his little hiney while I feed him. haha! He has also (knock on wood) slept through the night for the last THREE nights straight!! It's kind of hard to believe because his allergies have really been acting up, so he's been really stopped up. Of course, we have been giving him benadryl, so maybe that's why. I prefer to think he's just ready to sleep through the night. Maybe Donny and I are on our way to catching up on the sleep we've missed over the last two years. :) He has also started playing a lot more. He wants to explore all of the toys and is constantly putting something in his mouth. He watches Coleman run around and laughs a lot more. His laugh is the cutest thing ever!

I don't think I've mentioned yet how Coleman has learned to roll his eyes. It's stinking funny - and it cracks him up too! He got a good laugh out of me crossing my eyes at him, too. His new favorite word is "mine" and he is not afraid to say it when someone tries to take the toy he's playing with. I try to remind him that nothing is his, it's all mommy and daddy's and we just let him use it. He doesn't understand, but one day he will. ;)

This past weekend was ACU's homecoming. My sister and her family came to stay with us and we had a great time! We went to the ACU carnival, and also to the parade on Saturday morning. Coleman had fun until he saw the mascot - Willie the Wildcat. He was scared to death of him and wouldn't go near him, even if he was in my arms. Otherwise he had a great time playing in the air castles, petting the cows, goats and bunnies, and eating tootsie rolls.

Since Lindsay's kids tend to sleep in and mine still wake up at the crack of dawn, we tried to keep them quiet in our room for as long as we could. I took this picture this morning of all three of them hanging out. This is one of my new favorite pictures.

And finally, I have to brag on Donny. We've been talking about getting a picnic table to sit at for forever!! He did one better and built this one. We've already used it a lot since the weather has been so nice! He also got a bug zapper since the mosquitos are horrible! I think he did a great job. Thanks Donny!!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Perfect

2010-10-05T07:24:00.003-05:00

In my early twenties, I didn't think I would ever want kids. Then, I got married, and there was something intriguing about it. I never imagined my evenings would be spent playing outside, listening to Coleman scream or pushing Ethan in a swing. I never imagined I would find such joy and happiness in seeing them smile and having fun. That's exactly how I felt last night, though - so incredibly happy. Here are some pictures of my small piece of heaven.

It's been a couple of weeks since I blogged last, so here's a quick update. Coleman is slowly increasing his vocabulary. He can now say Mom, moo, duck, quack, truck (which sounds like wuck) and he even said Hayley! He can also make a pig noise, a bear noise and say a few other things. He's getting there. He also got tooth number 11! I can't believe how slowly they are coming in, and boy does he let you know it when he's about to get one! He acts like he's possessed throwing himself on the floor, biting, etc. No fun!! I hope the others come in soon and all at once! Coleman loves his Boston Red Sox hat. He wanted to get a bath with it last night and was a little upset when I wouldn't let him. I'm sure it's because Donny wears one. The other night we were riding in the car and Donny and Coleman both had their hats on. Donny took his hat off, scratched his head and put his hat back on. Sure enough, Coleman followed suit. That was a big wake up call - he's watching and learning from us!

Ethan is getting a lot bigger! He eats like a champ, but still isn't sleeping through the night. I thought for sure he would because I fed him rice cereal with baby food, and he drank a whole bottle! No such luck, though. We opted for the cry it out method last night which is always so hard. Ethan is very persistent - he doesn't give up easily like Coleman did. Last night he cried for about an hour and a half before finally deciding we weren't coming to get him. He looked a little upset with me this morning when I got him out of bed, but I managed to get a little smile eventually. He loves swinging and seems pretty content just hanging out in the swing while we play with Coleman. Otherwise, he wants to be in someones arms. We've tried, pretty unsuccessfully to ween him off of his pacifier. I'm not sure what it is that makes this so hard to do with him. I think life is so hectic right now that we're holding on to the little things that help us keep our sanity. The paci is one of them. We'll get there...someday.

The Animals of Farmer Jones

2010-09-16T07:45:00.003-05:00

I have to say, this is one of Coleman's all time favorite books. Whenever I tell him to pick a book to read, he usually always picks this one or Drummer Hoff. Last night, he actually picked Drummer Hoff, but when we finished reading that one, he pointed to The Animals of Farmer Jones, so I found myself saying "Okay, one more book, and then night night." He got a big smile on his face and we started reading.

He loves hearing all of the animal noises. He will repeat the cow and the pig noises sometimes. When the page comes up where farmer Jones is waving goodbye, Coleman always waves back and gives him a kiss.

After we finished reading the book, we turned to the back cover:

I started pointing out what everything was for him and decided I would quiz him.

Coleman, where's the duck? He pointed to the duck. Coleman, where's the train? He pointed to the train. Coleman, where's the puppy dog? He pointed to the puppy dog. Coleman, where's the boat? He pointed to the boat. It went on and on until I said Coleman, where's the mouse?

He takes his little finger, turns it around, and points to his mouth. Donny and I got a good laugh out of that one!

Life Just Got a Little Easier

2010-09-13T19:47:00.004-05:00

Yay!! Ethan is sitting up on his own (for longer than 10 seconds!!)! I'm super excited - I can't wait to get rid of that baby tub!! I'm proud of my little boy! He sat on his own and played with toys until Coleman stole them. He even managed to stay sitting through a clumsy Coleman hug!! That's progress!

He has also mastered the paci - he puts it in his mouth, no problem. The only time he won't do it is when he wakes up from sleeping. That would really help, but I guess I won't push my luck.

You probably can't tell from this picture, but I cut his little curls off - the ones that were hanging around his ears. :( I didn't touch the top, though. I figure I'll leave that to the professionals at US Hair. Not sure when we'll get his first haircut, but it'll probably be soon since Coleman needs one too.

Happy Monday!

Six Months Old

2010-09-02T07:23:00.004-05:00

I'm now six months old, and boy am I a cute little boy!!

Now that I'm a little older, I get to play more with my brother. He loves me...I think...

We like to have casual conversation that Mommy and Daddy can't understand. It consists of a lot of screaming and loud gibberish. In this picture we are discussing the meaning of life. I'm really into the conversation, but Coleman keeps looking at me like I have spit up on my shirt or something! Coleman, give me a break, man! I had too much to drink! Anyway, you can tell we're brothers. We both sit the same way. Dad taught us that.

Together, and with my mommy and daddy, we are one happy family. Here's to the next six months!

Yes or No?

2010-08-26T20:20:00.006-05:00

Coleman's new way of communicating is by nodding his head yes or no to the questions we ask him. Most of the time he says no, even if he means yes.

For example, there's no mistaking when Coleman has dirtied his diaper. We say "Coleman, did you go poo poo?" He shakes his head no.

When he gets home from daycare, he's usually ready for dinner. He is in an awful mood until we fill his little belly. We say "Coleman, are you hungry?" He shakes his head no right before he gobbles up his dinner.

When it's bath time, we say "Coleman, are you ready for a bath?" He shakes his head no, but unfortunately, he really means no.

Last night, Donny was putting him to bed. Donny said "Coleman, do you love your Daddy?" Coleman shook his head yes. :)

Ethan has been under the weather. He hasn't quite been able to shake the cold he got in Mass. He still has a cough that wakes him up at night, and he, again, has a fever to go along with it. He had a fever Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, but we waited it out. It went away and everything seemed fine until Tuesday at 4:15. I got a call from daycare that he had a 100.6 degree temp. By the time we got him home, it was 101.3. I kept him home Wednesday, and today I took him in to the doctor for what was supposed to be his well check. He seems to be having some sinus issues, so he's on an antibiotic for the next week. I'll be home from work one more day. The past couple of days has been good bonding time for Ethan and I. I love that little boy!

The Dr. did go ahead and give him his 4 month shots. He screamed and squealed, he was not a fan at all. He would calm down, remember what happened and scream again. Here are his stats: He weighed 16 lbs. 6 oz (40th percentile) and was 27.75 inches long (95th percentile). He's a tall guy!

Hopefully he will start feeling better soon, and hopefully he will start sleeping through the night!! We're EXHAUSTED!

Okay, so apparently I can blog without pictures, but it's not as fun!

Boo Boos and Kisses

2010-08-23T19:54:00.005-05:00

I forgot to mention that while in Mass, Coleman got his first real boo boo - a scraped knee. He showed just about everyone and would make this face like it still really hurt him, even though it had been several days since it happened. He loved the attention he got and milked it for all it was worth! The only thing that would make it better was kisses. Now every time he even so much as touches something, he acts like it hurts and comes over for me to kiss it. So funny!

One of my all time favorite memories of Coleman happened in Mass, too. We were in our hotel room at the Cape. He was on the bed in his diaper playing with a match box car (no, not the one he stole, he legitimately owned this one!) He stopped what he was doing, came over, gave me a kiss, and went right back to playing. He could have asked me for a million dollars and I would have given it to him...that is, if I had it!

Ethan loves kisses too. If he's grumping, all I have to do is get him down on the floor and start kissing his cheeks and neck. He giggles every time. My little man is going to be six months in a few days. He feels like a big ol boy to me. He's so heavy, I can't even carry him in his car seat anymore. It's been interesting getting both kiddos into daycare without using the car seat. Sometimes it's both boys on each hip, and sometimes, if Coleman is feeling like a big boy, it's one on a hip and the other walking beside me. It's already easier, though. At least I can carry Ethan on my hip without worrying about him flopping everywhere!

Here are a few pictures because we all know I can't blog without pictures.

Coleman being a big boy and walking next to Daddy.

One of my FAVORITE pictures of Ethan. What a great smile!

The Big Hall

2010-08-16T18:50:00.004-05:00

Coleman moved from the Kittens class to the Ducks class today. Ducks are the two year olds and they are in the big hall at Rainbow. I don't know why, but him moving up to the two year old's room made me sad. I kept telling myself to get a grip! It's not like he was going to kindergarten for pete's sake!! All the self-coaching in the world couldn't hold back the few tears I shed, though. Lame, I know. Please feel free to roll your eyes now. Coleman was all about the Ducks room. He was reunited with his friend Wade, so that was exciting! He also isn't the oldest anymore, which I think is a great thing!! I hope that the older kids are talking and he will catch on. Anyway, as soon as Coleman saw the new toys in the Ducks room it was "sionara sucker" to me! He had a great day and came home with a cloud he made by gluing cotton balls to a sheet of paper. He walked out like a big boy holding my hand all the way to the car.

Ethan stayed in the caterpillars room. He was the biggest in his class, except for the 30 lb. 9 month old...seriously. If that kid got to rolling, he could do some damage! Ethan had an okay day. He only ate an ounce here and there. When he got home, he screamed for a long time until I finally got him to sleep. Coleman woke him up shortly after he fell asleep. He started screaming as soon as he woke up, so I got his bath ready. He screamed all through his bath, and all through me getting him ready for bed. I finally calmed him down enough to get him to eat, and then to go to sleep again all snug in his crib. He just seemed exhausted. Maybe he'll sleep through the night. Oh man, what I wouldn't give if he would sleep through the night!!

This Friday is Donny's and my 5 year anniversary. I can't promise any elaborate post like last year's, but I am still as much in love with him as I ever have been. We're going to celebrate Saturday night. Donny must have something big planned because he hasn't said a word to me about it.

Bringing Up Boys

2010-08-13T16:36:00.010-05:00

Bringing up boys has been fun thus far. Coleman is 19 months old and Ethan is now 5 months old. It's had it's challenges, but I can't imagine having girls!! Little boys are crazy - they get into everything, run around like mad men, squash bugs with their bare hands and have no fear. My little boys are the best - we've been having lots of fun lately! Here's what's been going on:

1) Coleman loves to JUMP! I think this all started because of his Elmo video. There's a whole segment about jumping where someone decided it was a good idea to have a boy who can't pronounce his "r" talk about sack racing. Kind of mean in my opinion, but oh well. After he started watching it we would say "Coleman, JUMP!!" and he would do his best to get both feet off of the ground. Now that he's been doing it for a while, he's a lot better at it.

2) We just went on our annual trip to Massachusetts. This is where I discovered how much fun little boys are!! I really enjoyed watching Coleman play. He rode 4 wheelers with Donny, swam a lot, caught a frog, played with trucks and match box cars (one of which ended up in his pocket...which would be fine, except that it wasn't ours!), petted horses, ran around stealing the attention of everyone and just plain wore himself out. Ethan experienced a lot of firsts - his first plane ride being one of them. It was his first time to meet a lot of Donny's side of the family, too. It was all of our first time to go out to the Cape. That was fun - and beautiful. I got to take a lot of naps, one of them was four hours! Donny got to see the lathe that will be his whenever he can drive up there and get it. The plane ride was way better than I could have ever imagined, and we didn't even need benadryl! Here are a few pictures:

3) I finally caught Ethan's giggle on video. It's so cute. Not anything like Coleman's, but I think it's safe to say nothing about Ethan is like Coleman. From what I've seen of his personality, he is my timid, safe child whereas Coleman is the wild child. We've been working with Ethan on sitting up on his own. He has a little ways to go, but we're making good progress! He gets the forward to back thing, but when he starts tipping over sideways there's no stopping him. He has also started to do a little babbling - dada has been heard, which needless to say makes me happy and sad. Will either of my boys ever say MOM?!?!?

4) Here's a typical dinner time at our house. Not sure why I want to remember this, other than I just think the normal every day things are going to slip away from my memory fast. I realized this when I tried to remember what we used to do on Friday nights before we had kids and couldn't.

5) Biting - there has been none of that lately! He is still on probation, which I think is ridiculous, along with many other things about RBS. We are in the process of deciding if we want to keep our kids there. Many pros and cons, I'm just not sure which pros outweigh which cons.

6) Coleman has started saying "OH WO!" for "OH NO!" It's really cute! He says it really loud and boisterous.

7) We got a short visit from Lindsay, John, Braden and Emily. This picture was taken - it's one of my favorites of both Emily and Ethan.

8) Coleman has started to have "jam" sessions with his guitar. He really gets in to it and has learned a new dance:

9) I'm an AUNT again!! On 8/2 at 1:03 our family welcomed Maxwell David Legler (Max). I have yet to meet the little guy, but from the pictures I've seen he's adorable.

10) Here are a couple of random pictures:

New Words, New Foods, New Things

2010-07-22T20:09:00.004-05:00

Today is the day. The board at RBS meets today to decide whether Coleman is going to be put on probation for his excessive biting. I have to say, Coleman has really improved - today was the 4th day in a row with no biting!! Fridays seem to really get him, though. Last Friday he bit SIX times. So what made it better this week? Was it me storming into his classroom like a Nazi on crack when I saw him try to bite a poor innocent little girl three times, or is it the pep talk I give him every morning before I leave him, or could it be the Tylenol and teething tablets I feed him every morning? I'm not sure, but the combination of all three of the above seems to be working, so I'm not going to go changing things. I'll let y'all know what the verdict is. I am fully expecting him to be on probation. I wonder if there's anywhere to record that in his baby book?

Coleman has added a couple of new words to his vocabulary. One of them is "cheese."

Teacher Brandi tells me he has said "shoe", "cup", "Bandi" (Brandi) and is working on "diaper" and "open." I have yet to hear him say any of these. :( His regular words still include "hot" (everything is hot!) "dada" and "uh oh!"

Coleman has become quite a good helper. Every morning that Donny goes in late, he gets Coleman ready. When he gets him up, he feeds him breakfast. When Coleman is finished and Donny lets him down, it isn't too long before I hear the pitter-patter of little feet down the hallway headed straight for me. He loves to play in my stuff and make a mess! This particular morning he decided he wanted to be helpful...kind of.

This is also how I found out he can now open doors. I had the door to our room closed. I heard his little feet running down the hallway and then the door knob jiggling. Next thing I know, I look up and he's standing next to me grinning! Better do some more child proofing.

Ethan has added carrots to his diet. He likes them so far. I think we'll try something green next time. He finally slept through the night for me the other night. It's only his 3rd or 4th time to ever sleep through the night. We're getting pretty exhausted. Come September 1, though, it's time to Ferberize. :) This will be tricky with another one that could potentially wake up because of the crying. I'm not quite sure how that's going to work. It has to, though, because we can't take much more!

Okay, I'm all blogged out.

Back To Front

2010-07-20T20:10:00.006-05:00

Ethan Rolled from back to front (well, close enough)! He cried a little like he didn't want to be doing it, but he was going to anyway. What a trooper.

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Ethan. He looks like an angel - I love him so much!

And another cute picture of him in the tub. I styled his hair myself. :) A girl I know looked at this picture and said "He looks exactly like you!" Uhhhh, is that a complement? Is it our faces that look alike, or our hair???

Ethan is just growing by leaps and bounds. He's eating like a champ, 6-8 ounces in a sitting, and is weighing in (unofficially) at 16 lbs. He won't be in his 3-6 month footsie pajamas too long - the shoulders are already pulling because he's too tall. He's also getting a little of a personality. He was holding a stuffed animal and he accidentally dropped it. He started screaming bloody murder! YIKES.

When I pick him up from daycare, he just smiles and kicks like he's so excited to see me. It's one of the best parts of my day. The other is when I pick Coleman up and he puts his little arms around my neck and squeezes for a hug. I LOVE IT!!

Brush, Brush, Brush Your Teeth

2010-07-20T19:47:00.002-05:00

I was so excited when Coleman started getting teeth. I knew brushing them wouldn't be that fun, but I never imagined the battle that would ensue or the tricks Coleman would pull to get out of it!

Here's how it plays out:

We go into the bathroom. "Coleman, let's brush your teeth." I grab the toothbrush and without fail, he puts his head down, mouth closed, looking at me with eyes that say "Go ahead Mom, make my day!"

I put toothpaste on the toothbrush and set him on the counter and warn him - "Coleman, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." He keeps looking at me, ready for a fight. "Open your mouth, please." He whines and whimpers. I try to shove the toothbrush in what little space he allows me. I start singing our teeth brushing song thinking I might get a grin and eventual cooperation. No dice, nothing is working. "Okay Coleman, I guess we're going to do it the hard way."

I get his towel out and wrap him in it with his arms down. I sit on the toilet with him in my lap and hold his head head-lock style. "Ready?" I lean him back. He starts to cry...WITH HIS MOUTH CLOSED! SERIOUSLY? I should have expected that he wouldn't just give up. After all, he is his mother's child.

Eventually I make him miserable enough to break him into an open mouth cry where I quickly try to get all of his teeth clean. Sometimes he breaks me and I give up. Either way, I have a feeling we are BOTH glad when it's all over.

My little disclaimer in case I get turned in to CPS - to keep Coleman healthy, he has to have clean teeth! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Enough is Enough!

2010-07-06T20:34:00.007-05:00

This blog has been shoved to the bottom of my to-do list for quite some time. It has become something I can't quite check off. I've put if off as long as possible - and then we started getting to baby food and doctor's appointments and I thought "Enough is enough!" So here I am, starting my novel of a post to keep the "Life of the Longley's" as updated as I can.

So first things first, Mr. Coleman has kept us super busy. He has become a habitual biter. Day after day I would get two or three "Biter/Bitee forms" that said "Coleman bit his friend." I wasn't really keeping track, but apparently Rainbow was. FIFTY in the last SEVEN weeks. Yeah, I guess if I do the math, that's about right. If you ask me, they should add on the form a check box that said "Did the bitee deserve it?" And if they can honestly check yes, it shouldn't count as a bite. But I guess life doesn't work that way. I'm not too sure it would help his case anyway. So for now, I go up there sometime in the morning and watch the monitor that is in the director's office. If I catch him biting, he's in trouble! Of course I haven't seen him bite yet, go figure. All I know is that if it doesn't get better, he will be put on probation. If it doesn't get better after that, then we will be asked to find other arrangements. It doesn't really help that two of the kids in his class have parents who sit on the board and will vote on whether or not he gets put on probation. I'm trying to look at the silver lining. If he gets kicked out, we'll probably try to put him at the daycare he was in before. It's much cheaper, and they provide his food. So maybe it's not such a bad thing after all. Just for the record, he does NOT bite at home, at all! I think he knows he can get away with it without consequences there. He might get reprimanded, but nothing lets him know whose in charge like a good swat on the butt. A loving swat, of course!

He is always curious about what's going on with Ethan. The other day I had the nose aspirator out and was cleaning out Ethan's nose. Coleman grabbed it when I wasn't looking, went into the corner of Ethan's room and shoved that thing so far up his nose I thought he might touch his brain. I was laughing - it was too funny! I finally got him to come over to me, and I showed him how it really worked. He didn't like that too much!

Coleman's paci stealing days have changed...kind of. If you catch him in the act of stealing the paci and you have at least one hand that is free, he will gladly hand it to you as if that was his plan all along. If you have both hands full and he knows it, he will take off without a care in the world. Usually when I finish what I'm doing I can find him under the computer desk or in a corner in Ethan's room sucking away.

He is obsessed with tools and anything that has wheels. He loves to sit in the driver's seat of the car and play with the everything. He really loves rolling the windows down. He also still really loves sitting on the lawn mower and also in Donny's jeep. I believe this is one of the moments that Donny is most proud of his son. Honestly, we never make a trip through the garage that doesn't end in tears. Too bad that's how I have to go to get to my car!

Here he is with his Daddy's measuring tape ready to "help."

And here he is taking the car for a spin. ;)

A couple of weeks ago, Donny was outside working. Ethan was asleep, so I decided to head outside and help while Coleman wandered around and played. I was trimming some bushes when I looked up and saw that Coleman had climbed half way up the ladder! I freaked out! I was scared to death he was going to fall and bust his head open. I couldn't believe he had done that! He was quite proud of himself and was very upset when I took him down.

And last thing about Coleman - he had his 18 month check up. Donny took him, so take the stats for what they're worth. JUST KIDDING, Donny! :) He reported back at 25 lbs. 4 oz. and 34 1/2 inches. He also got one shot.

Now the fun stuff going on with Ethan: He has discovered his hands and has started reaching more and more for the same little cow that Coleman always used to reach for. He has also started to balk at tummy time. Poor baby still has to do it, though. Usually I put him on his tummy while I change Coleman's diapers. He doesn't let me forget about him though, that's for sure! We have started him on rice cereal and we also gave him his first baby food tonight - squash! He had some funny faces, he wasn't too sure about all of it. He hasn't quite figured out how to get the food down. I say that, but the entire jar was gone and I would say that less than half was on his bib. It looked like he mostly just spit it back out with the drool he had collected. Yuck. He'll figure it out though. He still has his moments (more like hours and hours) where he will not eat and is fussy. He screams really loud. Much louder than his cousin Emily, I noticed. And it's usually right in my ear. He's a trooper, though. We headed out for my Mom's surprise birthday party in Dallas on Saturday. He spent six hours in the car and did a great job! I think he was so tired from screaming at the party. I'm not complaining, though. I'll take what I can get!

Here he is reaching for that cow!

And here he is with his butternut squash face - happy!

This last picture is of Coleman at 18 months and Ethan at 4 months. What can I say except that I am truly blessed.

Okay, enough...for real this time. Hopefully after this update, I won't get so far behind. Highly unlikely, but hopefully!

4 Months Old

2010-07-01T20:26:00.000-05:00

The Good Stuff

2010-06-22T05:52:00.009-05:00

Here are some fun things that have been going on lately:

Ethan has been rolling over more! I finally caught the last of his roll on video. He has also started to giggle. It's not quite the "laugh out loud" that Coleman had, it's more of a quiet he he he. It is absolutely adorable! Bath time is when he has laughed the most. Could it be at my singing? ;) He's also putting way more weight on his feet. I have been kind of worried about his feet because they turn in, and he would never flatten them, but it looks like he's getting the hang of it. And finally, we're packing up the 0-3 month clothes and bringing out the 3-6 month ones, all except for the pants. Ethan has such a tiny waste and chicken legs that he might be wearing those for a while still.

Coleman is a dancing machine. Every once in a while at daycare they have "dance parties" and they always say Coleman LOVES them. We have them here too and it's never any chore to get him to join in. He's so funny! What's even funnier is when Donny joins in. HA!

Here's some other video of Coleman and his Daddy sign.

I'm always hesitant to say that Coleman has said another word, because as soon as I think he said something, he never says it again. Usually when we get his oatmeal ready in the morning, we tell him it's hot and we blow on it. Yesterday morning, I said "It's HOT" and he said "hot" and then started to blow. Very smart little boy. He understands a lot more than we probably know, which is demonstrated in this video below.

There you have it - that's the good stuff.

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-21T20:08:00.007-05:00

I would love to start with my Father's Day post, but I don't feel like I can go any further before I mention the day before Father's Day. It began like any other day - Coleman woke up at dawn, and Ethan shortly after. We began our day, eating breakfast and playing. I went to change Ethan's diaper and Coleman walks in with his tongue sticking out. He does this when he's stuck something in his mouth he didn't like. I wiped his tongue off, and when he raised up his hands for me to pick him up there it was........DOG POOP. My son has officially eaten dog poop. As soon as I realized what it was I stripped Coleman and began brushing his teeth. I didn't even realize I left Ethan naked on the changing table. All I could think was DOG POOP, and every time I thought about dog poop or caught a whiff, I gagged. It was a poopy morning, that's for sure!

After I got Coleman cleaned up and Ethan dressed (he didn't go to the bathroom sans diaper, so that was good. One less mess to clean up!) we continued our day. We headed to Mine By Design to paint some pottery with Jessica and then to Rosa's for lunch. Coleman fell asleep on the way home, so he went down for a nap. Donny came home and I got the heck out of dodge for a couple of hours. Ahhhhhh - time to myself. It was nice. I actually ended up going back to Mine By Design to paint something for Ethan's room. It was relaxing!

Now on to Father's Day. We woke up and got busy. I know, should have gone to church, but we've been out of town the past three weekends in a row, so we needed the extra time to catch up. We worked outside most of the day cleaning up the yard, Donny mowed, etc. I can't say he relaxed at all. I think this was one of the best days of his life, though because he actually drove the Jeep. That thing hasn't moved since it got parked in our driveway four years ago. All I know is Donny walked in with a HUGE smile on his face after his cruise down the street.

Here's a picture of Donny with Coleman and Ethan by the Father's Day tree that Donny got last year. It's grown a little, but Donny can still reach the top. It's hard to see, too, because of all of the other trees. It just blends in.

Here are a few other cute pictures I took this week:

This is a rare moment where both boys are smiling, and at EACH OTHER!! I hope there are many many many more of these to come!

Here's Coleman playing in the tub
And Ethan, being Ethan

2010-06-19T06:31:00.006-05:00

Coleman has learned one more sign - this kid is funny! When we try to get him to talk, we point to whatever it is we want him to say. When Donny says "Daddy" he points to himself. Now, Coleman things that "Daddy" in sign language is pointing at himself! Donny's trying to teach him that the sign for "Mommy" is shaking your pointer finger like you're saying no.

We've started the slow process of potty training with Coleman. Really all we're doing right now is trying to make Coleman aware of when he's doing his business and introducing the potty. We put him on it once when it was very apparent that he was doing his business, but he froze and didn't like being on there at all. We're not going to force the issue, just try to get him used to the idea.

Ethan is still same ol. He's got that smile that just melts my heart every time. He's getting big and is still eating really good. He hasn't rolled over again since the last time I blogged about it, but that's okay, he does tummy time like a champ!

We're going to mine by design today with Jessica to make something special for a certain someone. I have two hopes. 1) We don't break anything and 2) what we make turns out great! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Let the Taunting Begin!

2010-06-15T08:03:00.002-05:00

We've spent a lot of time in the car these past couple of weeks. Coleman has, no doubt, been bored. I mean there's only so many times he can watch Elmo in Grouchland. He's found a way to entertain himself by taunting his little brother. He waits patiently while Ethan drifts off for a little nap. Donny and I notice things get real quiet then all of a sudden "AHHHHHHHH!" Coleman is looking at his brother, screaming to try to wake him up! Ethan's sweet dreams of milk and tummy time are interrupted and he starts crying. Coleman gets reprimanded and he starts crying and our once nice and quiet ride turns into screaming fits. Here's a video of all except the reprimanding of Coleman. Once he has his brother nice and awake, he looks away as if his job here on earth is done. I guess this is what being a big brother is all about.

Ethan Rolled Over!

2010-06-09T06:18:00.000-05:00

Ethan rolled over today for the first time (for real) front to back! No video, but I'll be trying to get it so he can show off his mad skills. Glad he wasn't in daycare! I would have been sad if I had missed it.

I Can't Keep Up

2010-06-08T21:22:00.007-05:00

Summer is here, which means we are busy busy busy! Everyone is either having babies, having parties or getting married. This means there's lots of fun stuff I want to blog about, but even less time to do it in, so this post is extremely long, but only because I have a bunch of pictures and video. This past weekend, we went to Dallas for my brother's baby shower. This is the second out of three weekends in a row we will be out of town. We all had a great time. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Ethan and Papa Joe

Ethan in his mini camping chair

At Charlie and Angie's shower (blurry) :(

Swimming at Aunt Pat's

Ethan's first time in the pool

I love this picture. It looks like the boys are plotting against Crazy Gran and Aunt Pat.

Ethan's swimming and milk induced slumber

Coleman is a little water bug. He loved being in the water and I have quickly learned the kid has no fear.

Mom and Ethan

Braden and Coleman swimming in Braden's pool

Braden and Coleman playing after swim time

Ethan and Emily

Uncle John with all four kiddos - Braden, Coleman, Emily and Ethan

Rainbow is out this week so I've been hanging out with the kiddos at home. Here are some fun pictures and video of stuff that's been going on around the house:

Ethan's been in the bumbo a few times. He's getting much better at keeping his head steady.

Random cute picture

Coleman loved playing in Braden's pool so much that we went and got him one. Turned out he'd rather play with the hose instead. Go figure.

Here's Coleman saying "Hi!" This cracks me up that he waves to himself.

This is what a typical night is for Coleman. He runs around like a mad man. He's fun to watch.

Here's Coleman demonstrating his sign language skills. He's now added please, thank you and finished to his signing vocabulary. He can also do the fist bump. HA! These cupcakes were made special by Mrs. Webb. Coleman loved them. Guess he's following in his aunt's footsteps with is favorite cake being funfetti!

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-02T06:46:00.000-05:00

Memorial day weekend, as I already mentioned, was spent in San Antonio. We had such a great time. The Webb's let us stay with them and I couldn't thank them enough for their hospitality and treating us like family. As far as I'm concerned, everyone needs a Nana and a Pops in addition to their real grandparents. :) The weekend went by way to fast. We lazed around Saturday evening. Mr. Webb took Coleman on a tractor ride, which was a highlight of his day, I'm sure. Sunday was church, then Sea World that afternoon, then home the next day. We ended up not taking Ethan to Sea World because Nana and Pops offered to babysit. So sweet of them to do. I was hesitant to take them up on it because Ethan has been so fussy, but from the pictures I got while they were babysitting, they had everything under control. Coleman really enjoyed Sea World. Most of the time was spent at the kiddie pool. He ran around and played in the water and had a blast. Then we went to see a beluga whale show. He didn't really like that - I think the music kind of scared him! We had a great weekend. Thanks again Nana and Pops (Mr. and Mrs. Webb) for everything!!

Heading out to San Antonio. Timing is everything!

Tractor ride!

Coleman after his nap before Sea World. YIKES!

SEA WORLD!!

Ethan while in Nana and Pops care. Happy boy!

Pops reading to Coleman

Uncle Jeff

Nana bonding with Ethan

Home and time to unpack!

Three Months Old

2010-06-01T06:20:00.001-05:00

Love my sweet baby!

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News!

2010-05-28T13:02:00.004-05:00

There are so many other things I need to be doing besides blogging, like packing for San Antonio!, but I need to get this stuff down or it will escape my mind, so here goes, short and sweet:

Ethan's Dr. appointment was yesterday and we got good news all around. He weighed in at 12 lbs. 9 oz. and was 25 inches long. He's been eating like a champ! The doctor said that he very well may have a milk allergy which could cause all of the symptoms he was having, so soy formula it is! We'll keep him on that at least until 6 months, and then we'll take it from there. He'll start rice cereal at 4 months and baby food shortly there after. The poor kid already has problems with constipation, so I'm not sure how much rice cereal we'll feed him since that could potentially worsen the problem. Other than that, he's doing great. We have him on probiotics for colic (thanks to my friend Jenni!!) and I'm a believer that they help. His fussiness has definitely come down a notch in the past couple of weeks. Can't believe he'll be three months on Tuesday. Some of his favorite things are his paci, listening to Nora Jones and the sound machine as he passes off to dream land, his new swing and the exercise ball (still).

Coleman is dangerously proficient in unlocking my iPhone. I can't really give it to him to play with anymore because he'll probably end up calling my "do not call" list. You know, the people whose numbers you have in your phone so in case they ever call you know not to answer? Come on, I know I'm not the only one with this list...! They say at daycare he is super hungry all the time. He won't really eat anything we give him here, except for crackers, so I'm kind of at a loss on what to send up there. I need healthy stuff. Any good ideas from you moms out there would be great! Some of his favorite things right now are Ethan's paci, crackers, screaming and kissing.

I finally got Ethan's birth announcements addressed and in the mail! WOO HOO! Before the three month mark, that's not too bad! Be expecting yours soon if I have your address. If I don't, email it to me at kcl99a@acu.edu.

So today we're off to Sea World!! The Webb's (Jeff's parents) are so sweet to let us stay with them and I'm super excited because Mrs. Webb is going to join us at the park! We have a 4:2 ratio of adults to kids, so hopefully the trip will be a success for all. We're going to try to keep Coleman up until noon and let him take his nap in the car. Wish us luck!

Speaking of Coleman, the little guy is waking up. Hope everyone has a great and safe memorial day weekend!

Update on Ethan and The Zoo

2010-05-25T06:01:00.000-05:00

Here's the update on Ethan. After having him on soy formula for a few days, we switched him back to regular formula per doctor's orders. He started getting really fussy and refusing the bottle even more, so we switched back to soy yesterday morning. When I walked into daycare, Teacher Emily said "Guess What?" And I thought - great, what happened now? I guess she could tell by the look on my face I was bracing myself for bad news because she said, "No, it's a good guess what!" So I said "oh, what?!" She said Ethan at SIX OUNCES in one sitting of formula! The rest of the time he ate four ounces, which is also unheard of. So it looks like maybe the formula in addition to being uncomfortable from his upper respiratory infection was causing him to not eat. We go back to the doctor on Thursday for his well-check, so hopefully everything will be fine. I think Ethan might have a milk allergy from what I've been reading. He'll grow out of it, so that's good. Ethan was all smiles at daycare yesterday. Teacher Emily took this picture:

She said he sat like that looking up at her smiling and cooing for 30 minutes. I LOVE IT! Ethan is working on rolling over. He doesn't seem to mind tummy time like his older brother did. He just kind of hangs out and looks in the mirror. He's really good at keeping his head up. He also slept really good last night. He only got up once at 1:30 to eat. He, again, ate his whole bottle, and then went right back to sleep. Whoever has been saying their prayers for us, THANK YOU! I think they're working!

Coleman, well, he's a mess as usual. He has perfected the "UH OH." Anytime he drops or throws something on the ground he says "UH OH!" I think it's his favorite word. He has also discovered that the holes in his shorts (pockets) are good for something. He likes to put everything in his pockets. This morning, he put a part to Ethan's swing in his pocket. I don't know why this cracks me up, but it does. Oh yes, and anytime Coleman passes gas and it makes a noise, he looks at me with a surprised look on his face and gasps. He's also a paci stealer. He will go and take the paci out of Ethan's mouth, try and put it back in, and when Ethan doesn't take it he runs off with it and sits in a corner and sucks on it. I'm not going to lie, sometimes I let him because he's calm when he has that thing.

The zoo trip with Aunt Hayley and Uncle Jeff was a success! They kept them there for a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I haven't had that kind of free time in a long time! I had so many things I needed to do, but I decided to get all of the boys clothes organized so I could pass the ones Ethan's already grown out of to Max, Coleman and Ethan's cousin that will be here in August. I put all of the different sizes together and put them in plastic bags and labeled them. It took me all 3 hours, plus some, but I felt good when I got it done. Now I'm not going to have to dig through a mountain of clothes when Ethan starts growing out of his 0-3 month ones.

Coleman enjoyed hanging out with his Aunt Hayley and Uncle Jeff as usual. This is his third time at the zoo and Ethan's first. Of course Ethan had no clue what was going on, but from the pictures it looks like he still had fun! Coleman got to witness nature taking it's course - they were feeding bunny rabbits to the alligators when they were there and he also got to see one snake eating another. His favorite animal was the giraffe. He loved feeding them! Here are some pictures from the day. Thanks Hayley and Jeff for taking them to the zoo!

Heading to the Zoo!

Looking at something...

Don't make fun of my muscle shirt - I look CUTE!

Where's Ethan?!?

The next adventure for the boys is going to be on memorial day. We never have a full weekend that Donny is off work since he works every Saturday, but since he has Monday off, we're going to head to San Antonio and visit SEA WORLD!!!

Middle of May

2010-05-21T20:27:00.004-05:00

It's the middle of May and here's what's going on:

1) Something's up with Ethan. We went to the Dr. on Friday because he was really congested. He got antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection. He weighed 12 lbs. He barely ate all weekend, and then Monday I got a call from daycare that he had blood in his urine. What the...! A phone call to my doctor and an one appointment later, Ethan had lost a few ounces, he weighed in at 11 lbs. 13 oz. According to the doctor, blood in the urine could mean many things, none of them are a big deal, though. I explained he wasn't eating and I was worried since he had lost weight. He recommended pedialite, as much as he would eat, and he gave us some soy formula to try. Tuesday went by and all Ethan ate was 12 ounces in a 24 hour period. Wednesday came and went and he ate 20 ounces. Only 16 of them stayed down, though, but it was still an improvement. He's still having little spots of blood in his diapers and still isn't eating great, but it's an improvement from the beginning of the week. I have no clue what's up with that kid. We're tracking everything he does, eating, peeing, pooping, vomiting, the whole bit so we make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. Through all of this, and the only reason I'm keeping my sanity, he still smiles and coos. Surely we can make it to September 1 when he will turn 6 months, and surely it will be easier then. I'm crossing my fingers!

2) Coleman's vocabulary might have increased by one word...maybe. When I get on to him, I point my finger at him and say "STOP!" We were in the car (Donny was driving) and I turned around and looked at him. He pointed his finger at me and said "TOP!" I think this kid is smarter than he's letting on. He only chooses to say the words that push my buttons. I have to admit, I got a good laugh out of that. He is so his mother's child. So does that count? I guess he now knows Daddy and stop. I hope he'll learn Mommy soon, though I'd settle for just a Mom. :(

3) Coleman has 1 more tooth, and one more on the way. Two of his bottom molars are coming in. One has broken through the gums, the other is almost there. He's pretty cranky because of those little guys, but I can't blame him. His gums look like ground beef. OUCH! I hope they come quick and I hope he stops biting us when he gets them. He wasn't a good boy at daycare the other day. They said he "bit three of his friends." In my opinion, if he's biting them, they're probably not his friends, but whatever. He's being moved up to the puppies class, which is 1-2 year olds. I hear it's because they can defend themselves better. Look out puppies, Coleman's coming to get you. So once he gets those two in, he'll have a total of 10 teeth! Only 10 more to go.

4) I got Ethan's newborn pictures in! Now I can FINALLY get birth announcements out! Here's one that I just LOVE!

5) Work has been crazy busy, and I've had to miss quite a bit of it because I've been taking care of Ethan. I finally got run down myself and got an awful sore throat. It hurt to even think about swallowing. I stayed at home on Thursday by myself and slept all day long. It was like I couldn't get enough. I'm feeling much better today.

6) Tomorrow, Coleman and Ethan are going to the zoo with Aunt Hayley and Uncle Jeff. Coleman's gonna love it even more now than the first two times we took him. I hope the animals (the very few that live at the Abilene Zoo) are out and put on a good show for him. Hayley, take lots of pictures!

7) Last weekend I had a great visit with my college girlfriends. We had a giant play date Saturday night that included 2 one year olds and one almost 1 year old. It was fun watching the boys play. I have to admit, Coleman is the most aggressive out of all of the boys. I give Crawford another couple of months until he can hold his own, though. We were pretty lame. I think everyone was gone and we were in bed by 10. I fell asleep in the chair before that. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Hopefully this is just a stage. Maybe in another 5 to 7 years all of our kids will be old enough where we can get sitters and live it up like we used to. I won't hold my breath though. :)

8) Coleman loves shoes. He loves when we put them on, he loves taking my flip flops off and putting them back on me, and he even loves the way they taste. Here's some cute video I took of him trying on some shoes. Those are some big shoes to fill! I'm such a proud mama!

That's all I can think of to fill you guys in on. Until next time!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-11T08:23:00.004-05:00

Mother's day was AWESOME, and I have the three most important people in my life to thank for that.

The day started out kind of early - 4:30 a.m. to be exact. Since the last three mornings when we went to get Coleman out of bed, we had to strip the sheets and bathe him, we didn't dare let him stay in there long after he woke up. Turns out there were no accidents, so he came in bed with us. I was hoping he would just go back to sleep, but no such luck. He was too excited to be in mommy and daddy's bed that he just played and babbled.

When we realized he wasn't going to go back to sleep, Donny got him dressed and took him to get donuts. Coleman was so excited to see so many donuts he kept pointing and saying "OOOOOOHHHH!" Wish I had some video of that! When they got back, we ate donuts and the boys gave me their present. I got the sweetest card from Donny and a sweet card from Coleman and Ethan. Their handwriting was shockingly good and they can spell like champs! They got me some of the candles I love, so I was really excited about that!

After I opened my gift, I left the boys with Donny and I hit the shower. I took a long, hot one listening to Norah Jones with my candle lit. So relaxing!! I took my time getting ready for the day. When I walked out, this is what I saw:

So I sat on the couch and watched them sleep for a little bit. After they woke up, we walked to the park and let Coleman play for a little while, then walked back. Coleman was exhausted after waking up at 4:30, so he went down for a three hour nap...nice! Donny and I napped at one point or another during that three hours - that's exactly what I wanted for Mother's day, a nap! The day pretty much flew after that. We had dinner, then put the boys to bed.

Thank you Donny for making me a Mom, and thank you Coleman and Ethan for being such great little boys. I love you all more than you'll ever know.

It Won't Be Like This For Long

2010-05-06T20:45:00.002-05:00

I'm sure by now most of you have heard the Darius Rucker Song "It Won't Be Like This For Long." It talks about the phases of kids lives and how quickly they go by. This song causes me to be bipolar sometimes, I have to admit. One minute I'm thanking God that it won't be like this for long, and the next I'm sad because my kids are so cute that I don't want them to grow up! Here's a perfect example of when I have thanked God that it won't be like this for long.

Yes, Coleman has learned to pick his nose and has decided that the prize would make a tasty snack. I hope he's not going to be the booger eater of his class. We had one of those when I was growing up and still to this day when I see him on facebook or hear his name, that's all I can think about. Hayley, you know who I'm talking about I'm sure.

And here's a perfect example of why I don't want them to grow up.

How sweet. The Longley boys. I'm certain in the future when you see the Longley boys it'll mean trouble, but look at how innocent they look now.

So while I hear everyone who has had kids say "You're going to miss these days!" I can almost certainly say no, I will not. These days are long and hard - I will not miss the 24 hour routine that we are going through right now. I will, however, miss the little moments in the day to day rush. The laugh I get from Coleman when I sing the Yo Gabba Gabba song "Party In My Tummy" to try to get him to eat, or the dance partner that comes out in Coleman when I bust out in "La dee da dee da dee, we likes to pahty, we don't cause trouble, we don't botha nobody." (spelled phonetically (sp?), because you have to get the gist of the true idiot I make of myself!) I will miss seeing Ethan's sweet smile as I rock him to sleep - that is after the two to three hour crying spell he's put us through. I will miss those moments.

So what's new? Well, some things. If you noticed above, Ethan is smiling, but not just smiling, he grins. And it's a lot more frequently than it used to be. I love it. Other than that, he is pretty status quo. He screams from about 6-8 in the evening and it seems that the exercise ball isn't working quite as well. He still isn't a good eater, but hopefully in the next month or so that will all fix itself.

Coleman still isn't talking, but he has learned some sign language. He signs "more" whenever we say the word. He's very intent on doing it too. One time he was carrying his milk and I said "more?" He bent down, put his cup on the floor and signed. This is what his "more" sign looks like:

He will also stick his tongue out all the way down to his chin to indicate he's ready for another bite.

Let's see...what else...oh yeah, this morning was my first time to deal with poltergeist style vomiting from Coleman. Not a pretty sight...or smell for that matter. Poor kid. He seemed fine after he threw up, though. He went about the day like normal. I kept him home from daycare because when I called my mom for advice on whether I should take him or not, she said "Well, make your decision based on what you would want other mothers to do." Way to make me feel like a bad mom for even thinking of taking him! The good thing is we got to spend some good one on one time together. He hasn't gotten that for a couple of months now. We played, got a haircut, went on a bike ride and played some more.

So that's about it. Both kids and hubby are asleep, so I'm headed there myself.

Ethan - 2 Months - Coleman 16 Months

2010-05-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

We shared the same last name and the same color eyes,

But we fought like tigers over that old red bike.

"I'm battin' first and you can't use my glove."

It wouldn't take long until push came to shove.

But we looked out for each other,

With brotherly love.

You hated girls 'til I had my first date.

I brought her home from the movies; you stayed up late.

Three on the couch watchin' T.V.

I was smilin' at her while you were laughin' at me.

But, I wouldn't trade it for nothin'.

Brotherly love.

There's a bond that brothers know,

And it gets stronger as they grow.

A love that time and miles can't come between.

We disagree but in the end,

There will never be two closer friends.

And brotherly love is something we all need.

They share the same last name and the same color eyes,

But they fight like tigers over one ol' red bike.

And lookin' at them reminds me of us.

They're gonna fight and they're gonna fuss.

But, they've got something special,

It's brotherly love.

Oh The Joys

2010-04-24T06:20:00.005-05:00

Oh the joys of being a parent! You know you're officially a "Mom" when your new alarm clock is the sound of a baby crying, you get spit-up on after you've gotten ready for work/church, and you sing Elmo throughout the day because that's what's stuck in your head. What a beautiful mess, being the parent of two.

This week was my first week back to work and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't somewhat of an escape from the responsibilities of parenting. The hardest part of my day is getting both kids ready for daycare and actually getting them there. I was trying to get a schedule down, but I've learned that's not really possible with a newborn. My best bet is to wake up as early as I can drag my butt out of bed and to wing the rest. Coleman wakes up at around 6 and as soon as we're ready, we head out to daycare, which is usually around 7. This means I have about 45 minutes to kill before my work day actually starts. It's been a great thing to have that 45 minutes. I get the kids to their classroom (which allows me to check "workout" off of my list of things to do!) and sit in there with the teacher and watch Coleman play and interact with whatever kids are already there. There are many things about having kids that solidify my faith in God, but watching Coleman play and interact is one more. It's absolutely amazing to watch how his mind works and wonder if it's "nature vs. nurture." I feed Ethan and get to know the morning girl who keeps my kids. I love that RBS hires mostly ACU girls, they're all so sweet! When 8:00 rolls around, I head into work. I love my job, so while it was hard to leave Ethan, and it's still hard to leave Coleman, I know I'm a better Mom if I'm not with them all day.

In other news for this past week, Coleman got TWO MORE TEETH! We didn't even know it until I randomly decided to feel his gums to see what was going on. He got his two top front molars, so that makes 6 teeth on top and only 2 on bottom! We've been trying to feed him more of what we eat, and he's been doing pretty good at that. He gobbled up a piece of chicken last night like nobodies business. His favorite things right now are going on bike rides (and bikes in general) and sitting on the lawnmower and playing with the steering wheel. He would spend hours sitting in that seat if we would let him. If only I could get him to sit still like that somewhere in the house!

Ethan's first week of daycare was good. He's not a good eater, AT ALL, which kind of worries me. Sometimes he barely eats all day. But he's getting bigger and heavier, so I try not to worry about it. He has slept like a champ these past couple of nights - from 8 pm to 4 am two nights ago and from 6 pm to 3 am three nights ago. It's not real consistent, because last night wasn't that great, but I'll take what I can get. He's still sleeping in our room, mostly because I'm too lazy to walk to his room in the middle of the night if he woke up. I made one pathetic attempt to put him in his crib last weekend, but that ended when he woke up at 11:30. We'll get there, eventually. Until then I'm doing whatever I can to make life easier.

Coleman's waking up, so I'll leave my post at that. Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

P.S.

2010-04-20T08:22:00.003-05:00

We had some newborn pictures taken of Ethan. Brooke did a great job, as usual! Here's the link to her blog for a sneak peak:

http://bophotography.squarespace.com

You'll have to scroll down until you find them.

Check them out if you get a chance!

So Much Has Happened

2010-04-19T13:28:00.011-05:00

So much has happened and I've had no time to put fingers to keyboard! I guess I'll try to go in chronological order.

April 5th was Coleman's 15 month well check. He weighed 24 lbs. 15 oz. and was 31 and 3/4 inches long. He's in this phase where he hits and bites - most of the kids that are in class with him are going through this, so I can only imagine what the day is like for his teachers! One day I got a note that said "Coleman was bit three times today." I started to get upset! I thought - who is that kid and who are his parents!! The next day I got a note that said "Coleman got bit today, Coleman bit back!" complete with a sad face and all! Hopefully he won't stay in this phase long.

On April 11th, most of Donny's family came down to visit. The visit was extremely special because we got to meet Dylan, (our nephew and Coleman and Ethan's cousin) for the first time. Dylan is 2 days older than Coleman and absolutely the sweetest boy ever. We also got to see Donny's two sister's, his Mom and his Gram. I think it's the first time in 4 years that all three Longley kids were together. We made sure to document the occasion with lots of pictures - here are a few:

Coleman recognized his Auntie Laura right away!

Coleman and Dylan meet...FINALLY!

Coleman loves his cousin Dylan - here he is leaning in to kiss him.

Up to no good...

Great Gram and Grandma with the kiddos

Bath time buddies

We spent lots of time hanging out and watching the boys play. We also got pedicures, went shopping and at TONS of dump cake...literally. :) Everyone was so helpful, we even got a break from the boys for a little bit - the family watched the kids while Donny and I went to dinner one night, just the two of us.

Ethan was super super fussy the entire week before the family came out, but Meagan showed us something called "divine drops" that stopped it instantly! Those things are a good workout, but we cheated by getting an exercise ball to do them on. Thanks Meagan for the life-saving tip! Another plus, Coleman LOVES bouncing on the ball too.

Aunt Meagan with the life-saving exercise ball!

April 15th, most of the family left, but more came. Lindsay, John, Braden and Emily came out to visit us! I hadn't been able to see Emily yet, and Lindsay hadn't seen Ethan yet, so it was nice for them to come out. Emily is beautiful and so tiny. She's sleeping through the night, which makes me extremely jealous! :) Braden is such a proud big brother. His vocabulary has increased exponentially since I saw him last. He's always saying something that makes you laugh. He played with Coleman and they had a great time. I love those kiddos!

April 19th, today, was my first day back to work. It was bittersweet, but much easier than I anticipated. We've (hopefully) got a little schedule and Ethan let me sleep for 5 1/2 hours last night. I managed to get Ethan and I ready to go before Coleman woke up, and then when he woke up got him ready and was out the door by 7:30. I actually made it to work at 8! The day flew by. Most of it was spent catching up with everyone and clearing the piles of stuff off of my desk. At noon I went over to see Ethan. He was doing great hanging out in a pink bouncy seat. HA!

Also today, I think out of sheer luck, Ethan rolled over today from his front to his back. Donny gave me a hard time because, even though we both watched him do it, I didn't want to count it because he can't actually do it, he just got lucky. Does that make me a bad mom? Hey, I'm just being realistic!

Hope everyone has a great week!

I Can See Why

2010-04-08T17:10:00.005-05:00

I can see why some species eat their young. This is what a typical morning with Coleman includes:

He is SUCH a drama queen and throws these tantrums for what appears to be no reason at all.

So mornings are a little hectic, and to top it off, Ethan has been colicky (I call it this because I have no idea what else could be wrong!) I can usually count on giving him a bath a couple of times a day to calm him down. Here's a picture of him during one of those baths - nice and relaxed...for the time being.

So, not to state the obvious, but things can get pretty stressful around here. One day at a time is what I keep repeating to myself to keep me sane. :)

How Polite!

2010-04-07T16:14:00.005-05:00

I couldn't help but share how polite it was of Coleman to exit the "dance floor" to do his business. Maybe I will be successful at teaching him the important things in life after all.

Another Year Down - 30 Here I Come!

2010-04-05T21:09:00.005-05:00

Easter Sunday was mine and Hayley's birthday. It was great, most everyone had a long weekend and some took advantage to road trip out to Abilene to celebrate with us. We did lots of things that kept us busy. We went to the park, got a pedicure, had breakfast at a bakery downtown, had dinner at Perini Ranch (it's becoming a tradition!), and got to spend quality time with family and friends.

Here's what Donny got me for birthday #29:

The bike I already had, he just fixed it for me and got the seat for Coleman. I'm so excited about this. It'll be something fun Coleman and I can do and will help get rid of this baby fat I've accumulated! We took it for a spin on Sunday afternoon and both had a great time! The only thing is, when we're finished, I'm tired and Coleman's still got tons of energy.

Here's our cake:

Easter Sunday was fun, but had a hectic start. Donny was serving communion so he had to be there a little early. This left me to get both boys there and in the pew by myself. So we started getting ready. I got all ready and had my Easter outfit on when Ethan spit up the entire contents of his stomach on me. Good thing I started getting ready a couple of hours before church started - I had time to get my shirt in the washing machine and in the dryer long enough for it to be wearable (aka not sopping wet).

We get all loaded up in the car and made it on time to church. We start walking into the building and Coleman decided he didn't want to hold my hand, but I wasn't letting go because the heels I had on were not conducive to chasing a one year old around the parking lot. He didn't like that and dropped to his knees to stop me. What else could I do but put Coleman on my hip and carry Ethan in the other hand. My muscles were burning by the time I got to the chapel and I looked like I had just run a mile. Oh well, at least the boys looked cute. :) Here's a picture of them. I couldn't get them in a picture together because after all that happened I wasn't about to try. Maybe next year.

Thanks everyone for all of the birthday wishes. I have a feeling that 29 is going to out do all of the other years. :)

One Month Old

2010-04-01T09:20:00.001-05:00

Ethan is one month old!

Change - The Parents

2010-03-29T09:57:00.005-05:00

Our strategy around here has changed. We've gone from a zone defense - meaning whoever's zone Coleman was in made sure he wasn't doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing - to a man-to-man defense. I handle 99% of everything Ethan, while Donny handles 99% of everything Coleman. Needless to say getting used to the new strategy was a little difficult at first. Most of the time, now, we've got it down pat. Every once in a while, Coleman throws us a curve ball that takes us back to square one. Every day around here is teamwork at it's finest, though.

We have, for the most part, both been holding our own. It's not so much a feeling of keeping your head above water with the second baby, I've noticed. We still manage to get everyone fed, bathed, etc. We even (sometimes) have time to do laundry, have cookouts, and clean. Cleaning, though, has been low on the totem pole of things to do - you'll see this if you ever drop by our house. But I don't care. I'm having too much fun enjoying both babies to worry about whether my house has been dusted and vacuumed.

One thing I am lacking is sleep. Ethan will go about 4 hour stretches before he wakes me up, but sleep that's been interrupted is never as good as uninterrupted sleep. Most of our days are spent eating (both of us, unfortunately!), playing and just hanging out. I'm glad I don't stay at home - I'd be as big as a house! We also have been going to dr. appointments, nursing counseling (we still don't have this down yet...ugh!), shopping, and visiting work friends. I have about 3 more weeks of maternity leave and I have to say, it's flying by. I'll be sad to go back to work, but that's life. I'll visit Ethan a lot because he'll be right across the street.

Donny's schedule has remained pretty much the same. He plays non-stop with Coleman and manages his whole night routine. My favorite thing about Donny doing the night routine is listening to him read Coleman his bed time story. Donny is such a great dad. He's not as tough as he initially looks. He gets all high pitched when he reads and talks to Coleman and Ethan. He also gives them the physical attention they need - tickling, hugging, kissing, etc. All I know is I picked a good man to be my husband and dad of my babies!

So on to some fun stuff. Here are some recent pictures and video:

Coleman might be a good candidate to take over the Ward family business...look at that plumber's crack. :) What a cute little hiney!

This is about the best picture I could get of Coleman and Ethan - Coleman doesn't sit still for pictures yet.

Big brother helping out with the paci.

Hi Baby Ethan!

Here's what Coleman has been learning. He's pretty good at it, but still makes a mess. We're working on that, as well as his attitude adjustment that he needs by the end of this video! :)

Change - The Boys

2010-03-23T06:36:00.004-05:00

I'm sure most of you are aware there have been lots of changes at the Longley household. This blog has been a long time in the making, so it might take me a while to write, and it might come in a couple of different parts...here goes:

ETHAN: We'll start with the biggest change in the last three weeks - our second son, Ethan, was born on March 1st at 5:56 p.m. Labor lasted all day (I went to the hospital to be induced at 4:45 that morning) but when he decided he was ready to come, there was no stopping him. Total push time = 15 minutes. Aunt Hayley and Donny were in there to witness the birth, a very emotional experience for me. Ethan weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. and was 21 inches long. No wonder I was so miserable! Poor little guy got pretty banged up on the way out. He got a black eye, a goose egg on his head and a fractured collar bone. What a way to come into this world! He's been a really good baby so far. We're giving the nursing thing another go, which has been the hardest part of these last three weeks. If I wasn't having to wake him up every 2-3 hours, he'd sleep through the night. As a matter of fact, last Wednesday I was running a little fever and feeling run down and decided to let Ethan wake me up if he needed to eat. We both got about 7 hours of sleep that night. We finally, just yesterday, got him back up to his birth weight, so I have a feeling there will be no more accidental sleeping through the nights. It's been a long and emotional three weeks, but I knew having another baby would be exhausting. So far I've only been peed on twice and pooped on once - a sure sign I'm a diaper changing vet! Here are some pictures of Ethan - most say he's the spitting image of me, which I think is awesome.

We finally ended up ordering some of Ethan's furniture. I also found some bedding that I liked way better than what I originally picked out, so I got that too. Here's the crib all set up with the new bedding. I still have some work to do, but it's coming along.

COLEMAN: What a great little boy! I have to admit, though, he has definitely noticed he isn't getting as much attention as he used to, which has led to several tantrums lately. He's still cute, though. :) If Ethan is the spitting image of me, Coleman is Donny's mini-me. He looks more and more like him every day. Some of Coleman's favorite things these days include playing outside and giving Ethan kisses. He's a little rough with him right now, but he's still so little himself. The word "gentle" doesn't mean much, but we're working on that. Here's a few recent pictures of Coleman and a couple of videos of Coleman meeting Ethan and giving him kisses.

I love how Coleman announces his entrance with an OOOOOOO!!

And two more videos of Coleman - this one is where he learned how to blow on/eat dandelions:

And this is a sweet video of Coleman and Daddy playing. His laugh melts my heart!

I know I've left lots out that I wanted to remember, but oh well. That's what lack of sleep will do to you! Up next: Change - The Parents. :)

Snow Bunny

2010-02-25T07:50:00.005-06:00

Abilene has gotten an unbelievable amount of snow this winter - 12 inches!! Hopefully that's all we'll be getting - I think everyone is a little sick of the cold weather! When it snows in Abilene, or anywhere in south Texas for that matter, everything shuts down. We've had a couple of snow days where the roads were actually bad enough that work was canceled. Tuesday was one of those days. Coleman and I loaded up and went over to Aunt Hayley's to hang out for the day. Coleman got to play in the snow a little bit, but wasn't a big fan! Here's a couple of pictures.

Every time he saw a snow flake fall in Hayley's hair he would hit at it. He wasn't too sure of what was going on!

Yesterday we got lots of good news!! RBS called and said they were going to have a spot for Ethan in March. I was pretty worried about this, but trying to act like the problem didn't exist because I had no clue what I was going to do if he couldn't get in! Prayers were answered and we'll only have to pay for a month and a half that we aren't using. It's a lot of money, but a small price to pay to have him right across the street and at the same school as Coleman.

I also had my Dr. appointment yesterday. He told me I'm dilated enough to where I can be induced, so March 1 is the day!! I'm excited, nervous, exhausted and ready!! Our family is growing so quick! My older sister Lindsay is having her baby Emily Ruth today, and my older brother's wife is pregnant - due in August. Babies will be everywhere this year at our family gatherings! So much fun!! The question still remains - when will Hayley and Jeff start their family?!? I secretly hope soon...but no pressure!

After we found out the news of the induction, we were frantic to get the fridge stocked and make sure we have everything we might need for when little Ethan gets here. We still don't have furniture, but Ethan will be in our room in the pack n' play for the first 2-3 weeks anyway, so I'm trying to think of that as something to do while on maternity leave. That is, if I have enough energy!

So that's it for now. If my blogging gets to be few and far between in the next month or so, try checking back in May when we're a little more settled in. I will try to post pictures of Ethan when he gets here for y'all to see. I will definitely post them on facebook, so if they're not here, check there.

P.S. Tomorrow is Donny's birthday! Happy early Birthday honey! I love you so much!

Saturday at the Park

2010-02-22T20:06:00.007-06:00

We took Coleman to the park to play for the first time this past Saturday. He really enjoyed running around and being free! He wasn't so fond of feeding the ducks and seagulls - he wouldn't even let Donny put him on the ground when he was near them! Here's some pictures and video from the afternoon:

Feeding the ducks and seagulls

Crawling through the jungle gym tunnel

Swinging

Sliding and playing

It really makes me laugh watching Coleman walk. I love how he swings his left arm...always the left one, never the right. Crazy kiddo!

Update on Ethan: No news to report. I've had a few contractions here and there, so I'm praying the end is near. My next Dr. appointment is on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll be dilated and we can schedule the induction for early March. I went for a long walk on Sunday afternoon - maybe that will help? Crossing my fingers!!

Been A Long Time

2010-02-16T06:37:00.000-06:00

I know it's been a long time since I've blogged when Donny starts asking me about it. :) Truth is, not much has been going on. When I told him that he said - you could write about my jeep...ummm...pass. Thanks though, Donny, for the idea!

Really all that's new is teeth. Coleman has gotten three more, which makes a total of five. I've been trying to get pictures of them (any of them!) and finally got one where you can see his bottom two. The top ones just broke through, so I'm guessing it'll be another week or so before they make their way down.

Coleman has also been giving kisses. This morning I was feeding him yogurt and he puckered up, yogurt on his lips and all. How could I refuse? Such a sweet kiss from a most of the time sweet boy. :)

Because I've been so bad about taking pictures lately, I finally got the camera out of my suitcase and started snapping. Here's a few from the past week or so:

Hi Everyone!

Don't interrupt me, I'm watching Elmo!

Nap with Mommy. Yes, believe it or not, we do cut his hair...but he did need one for a couple of weeks before we finally got him one.

Nap with Daddy.

Can you see my teeth?? That's right, I finally got some and there's more where they came from!

Peek-A-Boo!

2010-02-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

I can see two little teeth trying to make their way through Coleman's gums. It's his top left one and the one next to it - aka the top central incisor and the lateral incisor next to it. :) Oh dear God, make them come quickly!!

I have to admit that I feel like a horrible mom about this whole teething thing. Nothing was working - not the Tylenol, and not the Motrin. The Orajel seemed to help for all of 10 minutes, and what good is that? I've heard a lot of really great things about these Hyland's Teething Tablets, but after some research, found out that there's an ingredient in them called Belladonna, a toxic plant. I was really hesitant to use them. I mean, who wants to purposefully poison their kid? I have to admit, though, that I got kind of desperate the other night and had Donny pick some up so we could give them a try.

If all of these parents are using them and their kids are fine, I'm making the general assumption that they are overall safe and someone who didn't have anything better to do decided to call out this ingredient for their amusement. All I have to say is that Coleman has slept through the night the past two nights since we started giving them to him, so I'm not going back! Now granted, there's always the "what if?" at the back of my mind. I have rationalized these thoughts by only giving them to him at night when he seems like he's in the most pain. I hope his little teeth pop through before Ethan gets here. If not, and he's up during the night after I've had Ethan, it's going to be Donny's job to take care of him. In general, Donny's way of taking care of him is letting him cry in his crib. :( Normally this is fine, but when he's in pain I do not agree! I guess that's why God gave us both a Mom and a Dad.

Today marks my last day of bed rest! Thank the LORD!! Laying around all day makes me tired! I am overall VERY uncomfortable. I get so out of breath walking from the bed to the bathroom. Not to mention that I can't breathe at night because this baby is all up in my lungs! There's a ton of pressure on my lower extremities, which makes it hard to walk without being in pain. My belly seems much bigger this time, but I've gained 8 less pounds so far than i did with Coleman, so I'm not sure what that's about! I am in no way, shape or form ready for Ethan to be here yet, though. I'm not ready for the all-nighters and trying to get Coleman to daycare in the mornings with little Ethan in tow. It should be interesting, to say the least to see how the first few weeks after having Ethan will pan out. I'll figure something out, though...

Hoping everyone has a great weekend!

More Teeth?

2010-02-01T20:29:00.008-06:00

The screaming, the hand chewing, the fever, the drooling, the look of pain and anguish on his face...could these all be signs that more teeth are on the way? It's hard to tell without being able to see the gums - next time he's screaming I'm going to get a flashlight out to see what I can see. Hopefully it won't be at 3:30 in the morning again!

Yes, that's right, 3:30 a.m., back to sleep at 4, up again at 5, back to sleep at 6:30, up again at 7, back to sleep at 8, up again at 8:40. We administered Tylenol, Orajel (Coleman put up a good fight for this one) and Motrin to get the little bouts of sleep that we got. I'll be glad when he has all 20 teeth...but how long does that take?? It seems kind of cruel to me that these babies go through so much to get their teeth in, only to lose them in 7 or 8 years.

I know that the above instructions say "Don't" give your baby a shoe to chew on, but honestly, if it made him feel better I would! Of course I would make sure it was cleaned thoroughly first. He won't chew on any chew toys. We've tried frozen ones, vibrating ones and all other ones that other parents have sworn by. He prefers his fingers, and every once in a while my arm - which, I'm not going to lie, HURTS! He likes the Gerber teething biscuits his Crazy Gran got him, but we can't really give him those in the middle of the night - they're pretty messy. They're even kind of hard to give him in the day because either the dogs steal it or he wipes the soggy part on everything. All of our couch pillows and cushions need to be washed because of these things. Maybe I'll give that chore to my mom when she comes down next...what do you think Mom?

Wish us luck that the teeth come through quickly and in multiples (6 at once would be nice!), and that Coleman can go back to being his normal self. There's nothing worse that seeing your baby in pain. :(

On a side note - this is the last Monday I'll be on bed rest!! Time is going by quickly because I've been able to work from home, so I'm thankful for that. I have to admit, I haven't been as strict on the bed rest as I should be...it's just a hard thing to do when you have a one year old! I know it's important, though, so I'm going to do my best for Ethan.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Fun Friday Night

2010-01-29T19:52:00.005-06:00

Coleman has been kind of grumpy lately. We have, however, found a toy that is sure to put a smile on his face. This was a Christmas gift from his Cousin Dylan, Aunt Meagan and Uncle Gabe and he LOVES it. I think you can tell by the smile on his face as soon as he sees I've set the blocks up!

It makes me laugh that he comes at it full force and then barely hits at it. Funny kid. :) This is about how all of our Friday nights are now - laid back catching up on Cops or Lost re-runs and playing with baby C. Fun times.

Update on the Update

2010-01-27T20:34:00.006-06:00

My Dr. appointment was yesterday. I was hoping, but not counting on being off of bed rest, however no such luck. As a precaution, Dr. Cass recommended I stay on bed rest until I am 35 weeks. That's approximatley 10 days away, so I know I can do it. I will, however, be taking a very long walk the day I get off of bed rest! I feel like a big fat slob laying around all day!

There's no way Donny and I would make it without the help of several people. To start, Hayley has been so incredibly helpful. She takes Coleman to daycare every morning and checks to see if we need anything all the time. Coleman loves his Aunt and I love my sister!

Also a big thanks to Coleman's Uncle Jeff. This past Saturday morning, Donny had to work and Hayley was out of town, so my wonderful brother-in-law Jeff was nice enough to come sit with Coleman and I until donny got home. Thanks Jeff!!

My Mom also came in town and really helped us out. She cleaned, went grocery shopping for us, played with Coleman and made sure we were all set up for the next week. It was so nice to have her down and know that I would be taken care of! Thanks Mom!

And Donny has been key in keeping me off of my feet as well. He has taken care of the house, me and Coleman without so much as one complaint. Okay, maybe one or two, but he's been really great. :) I caught this on video - it was such a sweet sight to me. Coleman and I are lucky to have such a great dad and husband. I love you honey!!

And Coleman has been helpful as well. Crazy Gran taught him how to sweep the floor - here he is helping his dad keep the house clean:

The Update

2010-01-20T07:00:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since I've blogged! Many of you know what's going on, but here's the update.

Friday morning I wasn't feeling real well. I decided I would stick around the house until I felt better and then go into work. I was having contractions, but I thought they were just braxton hicks. An hour later, they were stronger and more painful, so Donny made me call the doctor. Based on my explanation, Dr. Cass recomended I go to labor and delivery to get checked out. When I got there, the nurse hooked me up to the monitors, got all my info, etc.

Turns out I was having contractions every 2 minutes and when the nurse checked my cervix, I was dilated a little bit. I was put on tributaline to stop the contractions. After a couple of hours of being on the monitors and the meds, the contractions weren't stopping. The nurse checked me again and I had dilated a little more. This is when they started mentioning terms like "pre-term labor" and "Neo-natal intensive care unit" and when the fear started hitting me that Ethan might be born premature.

Since it really isn't safe to have the baby before 35 weeks, and I'm only 32, Dr. Cass had them give me a steroid shot for little Ethan's lungs. If anybody has had these shots, they hurt BAD!! After another several hours of laying around waiting, the tributaline started working and my contractions stopped. They kept me overnight on the monitors and all day the next day. I got another steroid shot, Dr. Cass checked to see if I had dilated further (I hadn't) and sent me home on bed rest for a week.

So here I am, laying around trying to stay horizontal. This is so incredibly hard for me because I am such a busy body - I am always doing something! It's also hard because Coleman doesn't understand what's going on and gets really upset when I don't pick him up. That's the worst part is having to sit in this chair and have Coleman stand next to it crying with his arms up.

Unfortunatley we don't have the nursery ready - we haven't even ordered the furniture, but I guess you don't really need that stuff until later anyway. We have all of the essentials that will get us through the first couple of weeks, so if Ethan decides to grace us with his presence early, we'll be all set. The people from our church have been amazing and I cannot thank them enough for the meals/calls/prayers they've been sending up for us. Hopefully baby Ethan can wait another 18 days at least!

Bottles

2010-01-08T06:22:00.000-06:00

It's been 4 days since we've given Coleman a bottle. (He still has one at daycare that he sips on throughout the day, but they're working on cutting that one out too.) He's officially on big boy food like oatmeal, raisins, biscuits, pasta, fruits, veggies, etc. Anything he can gum enough to swallow! Kind of bittersweet - he is so precious when he's drinking his bottle and about to fall asleep. It's also way easier to mix up a bottle versus figuring out what to make him, making it, and then feeding it to him. It's also way messier to feed him real food, but I can't keep him on a bottle forever, right? Or can I?? :) I guess the next bottle we'll be trying to keep him from drinking out of is this one:

HAHAHA - I'm totally kidding.....hopefully! :)

I'm surprised at how easy the transition has been. Almost too easy. The first night we didn't give him a bottle before bed he woke up at 3:30. We decided to give him the bottle then. We didn't really prepare for him waking up in the middle of the night and that was our best solution. The second night, he woke up at 12:30. We let him cry until he went back to sleep. The third night, he slept like a rock all through the night. Every morning, right when he wakes up, I take him to the kitchen and we eat breakfast. He doesn't even act like he misses the bottle, but we keep them hidden, just in case.

Donny is really excited about the transition. He's had bottle duty every night since Coleman started taking a bottle. I'm thinking this will free him up to take care of Coleman's night time routine once Ethan gets here. That's right, Donny, your daddy duty will never end. :)

So it's one more step towards becoming a big boy. Many more to come!

Nah nah nah

2010-01-05T08:05:00.005-06:00

I forgot to mention two other things Coleman's been doing:

1) Climbing. On Sunday night we're hanging out playing, Coleman is walking around the TV room as usual. He walks up to the fireplace ledge, puts his little knee up high enough to get on there and climbs on up. Donny and I looked at each other and I said "Well, that's new!"

2) Nah nah nah. This is what he says when he doesn't want something. This is the sound I usually make when I catch Coleman doing something he's not supposed to be doing like trying to pull the plug protector out of the socket or climbing on the fireplace ledge. He's picked up on this rather quickly. Sometimes when I try to feed him something he doesn't want he says "nah nah nah" and bats it away with his hand.

Coleman at One

2010-01-04T20:06:00.004-06:00

Coleman had his 12 month check up today, so it's officially sunk in that I have a one year old. He has been doing so many fun new things and while my intention was to get them on video, I haven't managed, so here it is in words.

First of all, his stats: He is 22 lbs. 13 oz. and 35 inches tall. He's above the curve in height and in the 50-75th percentile in weight. He knows the Dr.'s office pretty well now - well enough to scream when we go into the patient room, scream when he sees the nurse, scream when he sees Dr. Steadman - pretty much scream the entire time we're at the office. I hate seeing this, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do to keep your child healthy. He got three shots (which he screamed through) and some Allegra for allergies. Dr. Steadman said that even though he doesn't have teeth, we should be good to go to start weaning him off of formula. Ugh, how do I even start this? I guess I have some reading to do.

We gave him whole milk a week or so ago and he wasn't a fan. He also seems to be a bit of a picky eater. I was feeding him mashed potatoes with roasted chicken and gravy and he would take the bite, find the chicken in his mouth and spit it out. But he still ate the potatoes. I might have to use a little trickery to make sure he gets all of his protein! We're at the point where we give him pretty much whatever it is we're eating. The most recent new food that he loves is yogurt. He can't get enough! Me either, so we hang out, watch TV and snack on yogurt. :)

Coleman has also become very independent. He's been a pro at walking for about 3 or 4 weeks. Now, he no longer wants to hold my hand while we walk up to daycare - he wants to do it himself. I have no problem with this. It takes us MUCH longer to actually make it to the door because when he gets distracted I can't just pull him along. He has to bend down, touch whatever it is he's distracted by, and sometimes he sits down to play with it. This is usually the point when I pick him up and carry him in. He doesn't like this. He throws his arms up as if he is going to slip through my grip and screams. Yes, his independence has brought on quite an attitude these days.

He also, for some reason, is way more interested in other kids toys. For church on Sunday, I packed my bag full of tricks with snacks, books, toys, etc. and had this crazy vision that he would just sit in my lap and play or munch. Not so much. As soon as his eye caught the kid's toys behind us, that was what he wanted to play with. Luckily the mom behind us has a couple of boys herself and was glad to fork over the toys to help keep Coleman quiet. We're going to have to work on that, among many other things!

Coleman's communication skills have gotten a bit better too. Whatever he wants, he points to it. Sometimes he points, though, just to point I think. I have to say, it makes guessing his cries a lot easier. Most of the time he's pointing to my phone or the remote control, despite the fact that there are a million toys sitting in the corner waiting to be played with.

He also loves the dog bed. I have no idea why, but when he heads to the back of the house, that's where I know I can usually find him. He thinks its funny to try and beat me to it, and he'll run (I use the term run loosely, it's more like the really fast walk of a drunk man) to it and belly flop onto it. Our dogs are big time shedders, so you can imagine what his clothes look like after that. It's pretty gross, so most of the time I do actually try to stop him. But when I've just washed the sheet that covers their bed, I let him go at it.

Coleman can now dance better than his dad, too! This is one of those things I've been trying to get on video, but he won't do it when the camera is on him. Maybe some day I'll get it and post it for y'all to see. Usually if I turn music on or sing, he'll bounce along to the beat. Sometimes he'll swing his arms. It's really cute. :)

And last, but not least, Elmo. This kid LOVES Elmo! He got a talking Elmo doll that is literally 3/4 his size that talks, sings, moves, sits, etc for Christmas. He also got an Elmo airplane to ride on and one afternoon I bought him an Elmo DVD because I knew we would be in the car for a while. Now, every time we get in the car, he points to the DVD player. He loves watching Elmo, playing with Elmo, anything Elmo. I, personally, can't stand Elmo. I have a feeling it's going to be a long several years until he grows out of the Elmo phase. Hopefully in that time, he doesn't go around referring to himself in the third person like Elmo does. Why would anyone make a fictional character that does this other than to get on parents nerves?!?

Such fun stuff - I love my baby!

The Last of the Toothless Grins

2010-01-02T11:22:00.004-06:00

That's right, Coleman is FINALLY getting his teeth! (The bottom front two to be exact.) The tippy tops of them are peeking out from his gums! You'd think I had won a million dollars the first time I saw them...I was so excited. If you had told me 5 years ago I would have reacted that way I would have laughed at you, but here I am - gleaming at the thought of his pearly whites! I guess that's when you know you've grown up. New appliances and baby teeth excite you. Oh well - it was bound to happen sometime.

On to the new year, which brings new resolutions. My only resolution is to have Ethan and to stay unpregnant! :) I'm getting so uncomfortable - my lungs are smooshed, my nose is stopped up, I can't sleep, and my heartburn is at an all time level of smoldering. Tums are my best friend and they are never too far from me. Not to mention the self-esteem booster I get when a lady at church asks me (almost every Sunday) if I am sure there aren't twins in there. I mean, I haven't gained that much weight - I still have about 10 more lbs to go until I match what I gained with Coleman. I don't take too much offense, though - she's no runway model herself. :)

Taking care of Coleman this last month has proven to be challenging, and I'm afraid it isn't going to get any easier. But as soon as I see that perfect little angel face of Ethan's, and I get to watch them grow up together, I will know it was all worth it. Now if I can just get his room ready, I'll be set for him to make his little way into this world.

That's about all that's going on at the Longley household. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

FEED ME!!!

2009-12-31T07:15:00.004-06:00

525,600 Diapers

2009-12-27T20:13:00.009-06:00

I probably wouldn't be too far off if this was the number I guessed of diapers we have changed since Tuesday. Coleman's "other end" has been overly active for this entire past week, so I'll be giving the Dr. a call tomorrow to have him checked out. I would say he's teething, but I don't want to jinx it just in case those little suckers are thinking about rearing their little heads anytime soon. As you can imagine, or maybe you don't want to, Coleman's cute little hiney looks like it's been on a cheese grater. :( Poor baby. Anyone have any diaper rash remedies other than Boudreaux's butt paste? Cause that stuff is expensive and we're going through it like we bought stock in it!

Our holiday week was a great one. Since we celebrated Christmas early with my family, Christmas morning was just the three of us. We relaxed, drank coffee, opened presents and made a huge breakfast. Coleman got MORE toys - if that's even possible!! We truly were blessed this holiday and birthday year by all of our friends and family.

So now on to new year's plans...we have none. I don't think either one of us could stay up until midnight if we even wanted to. It'll be just another night for us. We might wake up at the stroke of 12 to give each other a kiss, but that's about it. Lame-O, I know, but whatever. There will be plenty more years in the future to go out and party the night away. For now, we enjoy snuggling up on the couch under warm blankets and reading or watching a movie.

There's lots of fun stuff Coleman's been doing lately, but I want to catch it on video before I blog about it, so be looking forward to that! Hope everyone has a great week!

The Party

2009-12-21T05:56:00.013-06:00

So much work - so much fun for Coleman - so worth it! Saturday morning started out early, only because I woke up and had a million of the things I had to do that day going through my head and knew I'd never get back to sleep. I started with a trip to Walmart. Note to self, 7:00 on a Saturday morning is the BEST time to go to Walmart EVER!! I picked up a few things I knew I'd forgotten the last ten times I went to walmart for party stuff and headed back home. Friday night I baked the cake, cut it to shape and put the crumb coat of icing on it. All I had to do was mix up the colors, slap em on and it was going to be good to go, right?? Wrong. After looking at the cake again on Saturday morning, I realized I had forgotten to add the dirt heap to the top part of the cake. Ugh - sent Donny back to the store to get another cake. After making the extra cake for the small piece I needed, I iced it all up and was finished. It turned out pretty good, I think. Not perfect, but it was made with lots of love! At 2, everyone started showing up. Coleman had a blast and got SO many toys it was RIDICULOUS!! He is one spoiled little boy! Thanks to everyone who came! Those of you who couldn't make it, thanks for sending your birthday wishes and love! Here are some pictures from the party:

4:00 rolled around pretty quick, but I was glad because I was exhausted. The day wasn't over, though. We headed to Hayley's for Christmas with my family. The house was full of people, presents and food - the perfect combination for a fun Christmas celebration. We all stuffed our faces and then opened presents. Coleman was spoiled again with more toys, books and clothes. Wow, he really cleaned up! Donny and I were spoiled as well. We all hung out, relaxed and before we knew it, it was time for bed.

What a whirl-wind weekend! I didn't even mention all of the family that was in town! Thanks for coming out to Abilene and celebrating!

So now it's back to the grind for a couple more days, then I'll be getting down to business with Ethan's room. It's my project for after Christmas (along with a to-do list a mile long!)

Happy 1st Birthday

2009-12-18T06:59:00.028-06:00

Coleman,

I can't seem to find the words to tell you how much you mean to me, so here is my inadequate attempt. I can't believe it's been a year since you came into this world. What a year. You arrived just two days shy of the forty week mark. I should have known you would make me wait it out - you are your father's child. What a blessing, though. You were so healthy and content. Such a beautiful baby boy. You spent the first month being held by family. No one could get enough of you. You would open your eyes and everyone would swarm to get a look. The following months, though they seemed like such long days, flew by. All of a sudden you were a little boy that could walk and had a mind of your own. You know what you want and, like your hard-headed mother, you persist until it is yours. You are without a doubt, absolutely, 100% the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I love you with all of my heart and so much more. Your smile is absolutely contagious, your tears are undeniably heartbreaking. You are so smart. I will always ALWAYS be proud of you, even when you make mistakes because I know you will learn from them. I will always pray for you - that you turn out to be a kind, caring, confident man who loves God and always respects others. I know you will be an amazing person, and I look forward to watching what you will become. Happy Birthday Baby!

Love, Mom

P.S. Below is a slide show I put together to remember your first year. These pictures will always remind me of some of the most precious memories!

Coleman,

I think its next to impossible to put into words the true feelings I have when I think about you. I didn't think there was anything that could bring me to tears as quickly as you can. You are very special to your mother and I. The day you where born will be a day I remember forever, I wasn't expecting the flood of emotions that came, seeing you for the first time, and its something you can't truly understand until you experience it for yourself. If I have one piece of advice for you, it is whatever you attempt, make sure you put 100% into it, and finish it. Also, be an honest man and have unwavering morals. If you do these things, I know you will grow up to do great things and be a special man. Happy 1st birthday Coleman!

I love you Son.

Love, Dad

Waiting For Christmas

2009-12-14T05:38:00.003-06:00

And the countdown begins! :)

God Is My Strength

2009-12-12T19:58:00.005-06:00

And yes, while I need all the strength I can get right now, that's not why I titled the post that way.

We decided on Ethan's middle name tonight on the way home from Cracker Barrell. It will be Ethan Hezekiah Longley. Hezekiah means God is my strength. I love it!

How did we ever come up with that name? Hezekiah is Donny's great great grandfather's first name. It's unique and different, thus the appeal. Hezekiah is also a king in the Bible who, even though he was under attack and faced extreme pressure, was still able to receive deliverance and strength from the Lord in his time of need. Again, I love it.

So there you have it. On or around March 13, 2010 we will welcome Ethan Hezekiah Longley into our family.

Family Pictures

2009-12-08T12:58:00.003-06:00

I've added a few of our new family pictures to the right. We'll be getting a disk of them in the next 3 weeks or so, so I'll post more then. Until then, enjoy!

High Fives and Bye Byes

2009-12-07T05:49:00.004-06:00

I guess y'all are wondering where the Thanksgiving post is...well, don't wait around for it because it's not coming. Thanksgiving was awful this year! Don't get me wrong, the food was awesome, and it was so nice to see the family, but our schedule made it the worst one ever. Donny had to work every day except Thanksgiving day, so we made a day trip trek out to Dallas. The three hours out there weren't that bad. I drove, Donny entertained. The DVD player didn't quite work like I thought it would. Coleman's just not into that yet. We got to my Aunt and Uncle's house - Thanks so much Bob and Minerva for hosting AGAIN!! - and chowed down. We stayed for about three hours, then headed back. I thought the trip back was going to be easy. Coleman fell asleep immediately, so I was relieved. 30 minutes later, he was up and fussed the entire way home. I couldn't blame him...I felt like fussing the entire way home too! So that was Thanksgiving. Not worthy of it's own post. Here's Coleman asleep the first 30 minutes on our way home.

Here are some fun things Coleman's been doing lately.

1. Giving high fives. His Uncle Jeff taught him this!

2. Waving bye bye to his buddy Wade at daycare.

3. Wiping his face for us - I'll add video later.

4. When he drops something he'll say "UH" but he leaves the "OH" part off.

5. Teething...I'm almost positive this time...I think! :) He has been chewing on everything, especially the furniture or anything wooden he can find. But he hasn't been fussy about it, so that's the part that's throwing me off. I still think he'll be a toothless one year old, but maybe they're closer! Jeff keeps telling me the longer they stay in the gums the healthier they'll be! Okay, healthy teeth? I can wait.

6. Taking things out. It doesn't matter what it is or what it's in, he wants it out. For example, he stood at our dirty laundry basket and pulled all of the dirty clothes out. He also stands at the drawer where we keep his bibs and pulls them all out. One morning he was at the blanket cabinet. He pulled all of the blankets out. I guess that wore him out because after he finished, he laid down on them and hung out for a while.

7. Drinking out of a straw. He started doing this about a week or so ago, so I bought some sippy cups that have straws in them. He loves them! He also loves that I put water with lemon in them. Sometimes I put a little too much lemon and he makes a sour face and then laughs.

8. Sleeping again...thank goodness! Before Thanksgiving break started, we took his "wub" away again, so we had to go through the sleep training...again. Completely my fault - at the time I thought it was a good idea to give his wub to him since he was sick. I thought it would help soothe him, which I guess it did, but I let him keep it too long. He cried for 45 minutes one night in the middle of the night which made for a LONG day at work the next day, but now he's back on track - and mommy and daddy are happy.

9. Walking is going good. He won't jump up off the floor to do it, but if we stand him up and coach him a little he'll do it. I think when he gets a little more confident that will be his preferred method of movement.

10. Since my belly has gotten much bigger, Coleman has taken more notice to it. He'll come up, poke my belly button, I'll laugh like the pillsbury dough boy and he gets a kick out of it! He'll poke it over and over and over!

Now on to Ethan - well, not much to report. He's a kicker, that's for sure. "What to Expect" says he's the size of a cucumber - 15 inches and 2.2 lbs. I don't think I've ever seen a 2.2 lb. cucumber, but nevertheless, I included the picture to the right. I go to the doctor today. The appointment will be the usual - I'll weigh in, he'll measure me, ask if I have any questions or anything going on and that'll be that. This will all take 3 hrs of time - 2.5 of it spent waiting. I need a new book to take!

We still have yet to pick out a middle name. Everything Donny likes, I don't and everything I like, he doesn't. We need to just sit down with a book and look through all of our options! Anyone have any suggestions??

Hope everyone has a happy Monday!

Picture with Santa

2009-11-25T11:14:00.006-06:00

I heard Coleman tell Santa that all he wanted for Christmas were his two front teeth - or any teeth, for that matter! :)

First Steps

2009-11-21T21:20:00.005-06:00

Coleman took his first steps today!! Donny and I are so proud. Here's a clip of him in action.

Eleven Months Old

2009-11-18T20:41:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe Coleman is eleven months old today. I cannot believe how blessed I have been, how much I've learned and how much I've grown! I cannot believe I ever lived life without him in it. Absolutely, breath-takingly amazing.

So on to our eleven month mentionables:

Coleman is a food lover (surprising, I know!). Whenever we're eating, he is all up on our food trying to get bites. I have on occasion let him have small pieces of french fries, key lime pie, beans from taco salad, a little bit of a roll. He has the taste now - there's no going back.

Yesterday for dinner Donny and I were both exhausted, so we heated up chicken pot pies for dinner. I was sitting in the floor with my dinner on the coffee table. Coleman crawled over, stood up and started grabbing for it. My dinner was extremely hot, so I pushed it away. He was NOT happy about that and started pitching a fit!! This is something I will have to get on camera because it is the FUNNIEST thing EVER! When you tell him no or don't give him something he wants, he looks at you with sad puppy dog eyes, puts his bottom lip out, his head down and starts to cry. It really is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen, but my description doesn't do it justice, you really have to see him in action! Anyway, after dinner cooled down a little I took a bite and gave him a little of the crust. It's like I couldn't give it to him fast enough and he would stand there, whine with the most pathetic look on his face and pull on me to give him more!

When my dinner was gone, he started crying so I went to get some baby food to feed him. Turkey and veggies, close enough, right? He saw me open the jar and dip the spoon in, but he would have absolutely NONE of it! So Donny put the baby food in a "grown up" bowl. I used my fork and started to feed it to him. He stood there with his mouth wide open and gobbled it up! I think we're going to have our work cut out for us...he's a smart one, so we'll have to stay on our toes!

Other mentionable things:

Coleman has been tearing up the carpet with is walking toy. He will walk with it from Mommy to Daddy and then from Daddy to Mommy. Sometimes we take laps around the house, he loves it! He's also been crab walking (I guess you would call it?) When he's on the tile, he will crawl on his hands and feet instead of his hands and knees. He can also stand up without grabbing on to anything for help. When he gets to the standing position, he always looks at us to make sure one of us has seen what he's done. We clap, he flaps his arms like a bird and falls over. Then he does it all over again. :)

Also, when I dropped Coleman off at daycare the other day he started screaming. I stood outside of his door, out of sight, to see how long it really lasted. Let's just say it wasn't long before he had completely forgotten about me! When I went to pick him up I asked the girl how long he cried. She said for a few seconds, and then he was fine. She said that most of the kids his age are doing it - they know how to work their parents so that we feel bad for leaving! I guess I don't feel quite as bad when I leave now. Coleman also cries when his friend Wade gets picked up from school. They're best friends! :)

And...Coleman's first Turkey Day is coming up! We're really excited to share it with the family, but it'll be a quick trip to and from Dallas since Donny has to work the day before and the day after. It's not so bad, though. I kind of like being at home on my days off instead of out of town! Hopefully I can get some Christmas shopping and party planning done!

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!!

The Case of the Mysterious Lovey

2009-11-13T05:44:00.008-06:00

When Coleman goes to bed, we make sure he has a blanket and at some point we left this:

in his crib for him. He's never really shown any interest in it, so two nights ago, I hung it back up on the curtain hook where we kept it before it was in his crib. Yesterday morning when I went to get him up, it was back in his crib. There was no way it had fallen in, but I didn't think he could reach it either. So last night, I got him all ready for bed, put him in his crib and put the lovey back up on the curtain rod. I stayed in his room for a second picking up a few things and I saw him sit up, look straight up at that lovey, stand up in his crib, reach for it, and pull it down. He then laid back down with it curled up tight and went to sleep. The thing I think is the most interesting about this little incident is that - how in the world does he know he wants that bear?! It just amazes me that his little brain can think - "hey, where's my bear? Oh, there it is...Geez Mom, now I have to get up and get it!" Absolutely amazing. Like my friend Ashley said - how, after having a baby, can you not believe that there is a God? And I completely agree.

So what's on the agenda for the weekend you ask? Or, if you don't care, you can stop reading. :) Well, not a lot. I would like to maybe go hiking out at the state park. John, Lindsay and Braden will be in town, so we'll be spending time with them. Other than that, it's laundry and cleaning as usual. Oh yeah, and I plan to work on my "blog to book." I'm really excited about this little project of mine. I found this website that will publish your blog into a really nice book. It takes a long time to do the layouts and stuff, though, so I'm hoping to work on that a bit. If you've left a comment on this blog, you can officially say you're a published author when I finish it! :) Oh yeah, and I guess I'll be working on the invitations for Coleman's birthday party too. That is if the test print I did worked out how I wanted it to.

My Mechanic

2009-11-10T20:12:00.004-06:00

My mechanic apparently has a thing for me:

but I'm pretty in love with him too, so I guess that's a good thing! Thanks honey for my little reminder that I can look at every day!

My mechanic also installed the big boy car seat for Coleman. Technically we should wait another month, but it's really tight trying to squeeze him in the rear facing car seat these days, so we decided to go ahead and give this one a try. As soon as Donny got it in, we took a ride to the bank. Coleman didn't seem happier or anything, but one reason I'm so excited about my "new to me" car I got in August is it has a DVD player in it. The movie "Elf" was in the car and Coleman was mesmerized!! Any second thoughts I had about getting this car are long gone now. :) Here's a picture of him relaxing and enjoying the movie.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Look At Them Guns!!

2009-11-09T16:34:00.008-06:00

First off, thank you so much to everyone who has called, emailed, facebooked, etc. to check on Coleman. He seems to be doing much better as of yesterday. He no longer has a fever and went back to daycare today. I did receive a call saying he has had several "bad" diapers, but we expected that from the medicine. They also said he was pretty grumpy and needed to be held more than usual, but he's sick, so I say "give the kid a break!" Since he was feeling sick, we (when I say we, I mean I) made a few more accommodations for him at bed time. We let him have his wubbanub (a.k.a. the wub - see picture below.) This was designed for kids to be able to hold on to their paci at night and/or make it easier to find at night. Coleman never got the hang of using this before we took it away, but he sure has the hang of it now! I've also been rocking him when he wakes up at night, which, thankfully hasn't been too often, but enough to make me tired for work. I'll have to break both of these habits in the next week. I'll wait a couple more nights to make sure he's feeling alright before I turn back into mean mommy.

Now on to some fun stuff...here's some video of Coleman "flexing his guns." I laugh EVERY time he does this - I think it's because I think he's so cute that he will imitate us doing this! Hope y'all get at least a smile out of it. :)

"That Mom"

2009-11-07T21:49:00.006-06:00

So tonight I was "That Mom." I chose to ignore the advice of the doctors that wrote the book that I have relied on since Coleman was born and I chose to ignore the advice of a nurse of forty some-odd years. What can I say, sometimes you just have to give yourself a peace of mind that won't be there until your specific situation is addressed.

Last night at 11, Coleman's fever went up to 104.1. I called the emergency room and asked them what they thought I should do. The answer was Motrin and Tylenol every 4 hours. I did that, and his fever seemed to drop. He wouldn't sleep in his crib last night, so I brought him into our bed. I feel a little more comfortable about this now because he's a little older, but neither Donny nor I slept good knowing he was in there. I especially didn't sleep good because he slept curled up next to me. It was like having a heating pad on me all night. I actually had to turn the AC on I was so hot. This morning he seemed much better. He didn't have a fever and it seemed like the medicine had kicked in...that is until about 3. He started feeling hot again, so I took his temp. 103.1. I gave him Tylenol and an hour and a half took his temp again. 103.2. Tylenol has always made it go down, so it concerned me that his fever hadn't budged. I put him down for a nap and at 6, took his temp again. 104.1. I was not comfortable with waiting another hour to give him Motrin and on top of all of that, he threw up the entire contents of his stomach all over me and him. So with tears streaming down my face, we went to the emergency room.

The wait wasn't bad, we got in pretty quickly, but you can imagine my frustration when all the ER doc said was "Motrin and Tylenol every 4 hours." Ugh! Seriously? My baby has a temp of 104!! How high does it have to be for anyone except me to be worried? Apparently closer to 105. I'm not sure exactly what else I expected them to say, but I've NEVER heard of letting anybody's, much less a baby's temp get that high. I'm so sad for Coleman right now. I know he feels miserable, but the doctor at the ER said he should be better by tomorrow evening at the latest.

So while I don't feel like the trip was a waste (it did, after all, put my mind at ease) nothing was really accomplished to make Coleman feel better. I'm sure the Motrin they gave him in the ER will cost us what I could have paid for a year's supply, but whatever. I just hope he's better by tomorrow because I'm not sure how much more I could possibly worry!

102.9

2009-11-06T14:44:00.007-06:00

That's what Coleman's temp was when we got in to see the doctor. That's a little too high for my comfort, but apparently 104 is the magic number of when to take your baby in. I pray his temp never gets that high and I don't know that I would even wait that long to take him in anyway. Coleman weighed in at 21.3 lbs. He screamed when he realized where we were, and screamed even louder when he saw the doctor. What Dr. Steadman found was pus pockets on Coleman's tonsils. Thank God it's not the flu. He just has a little infection that should be better after a few days of antibiotics. Here's a picture of him resting - such a sweet little boy.

Road Trip

2009-11-05T19:58:00.006-06:00

Ethan and I went on a little road trip today. Ethan is so much different to travel with than Coleman! :) I can drive non-stop without worrying about dirty diapers, bottles, toys being thrown across the car, etc. I can listen to my favorite music as loud as I want to without worrying about waking him up. It's GREAT...for another 18 weeks at least! As a matter of fact, on this road trip, I reconnected with my old friends Kelly Clarkson, Shedaisey and Pat Green. Each one put a smile on my face for a different reason. Ethan kicked along as we drove to Fort Worth at 4:30 in the morning and all the way back this evening. I love this kid already!

Since I had to leave so early, and Donny goes to work before daycare opens, Aunt Hayley saved the day, yet again, by coming over at 5:30 to let Coleman finish sleeping and take him to daycare. He woke up extra early this morning (at 4). I guess he heard me moving around getting ready and decided he needed to be up too. I fed him and put him back down, but I got a call at 5 saying he was wide awake and not going back to bed anytime soon. I think Hayley probably had her hands full and, once again, her mommy skills were kid tested and mother approved. :) I honestly don't know what I would do without Hayley. She is so awesome and I honestly believe she loves Coleman as much as I do. She is there for us no matter what and I'm so blessed that she is my sister. Thanks again Aunt Hayley. We love you so much!!

Not so great news, when I got home from Fort Worth, Coleman was in bed taking a nap. It was 6:00, so I knew something was up. His temp has been up and he has been upset all night. Please say he isn't sick again! Donny said he was fine when he picked him up from daycare, but it hit the fan when he got home. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning. Poor baby! Maybe he's just worn out from the time change...

I Forgot To Mention

2009-11-02T19:44:00.006-06:00

I knew there was something I was forgetting to blog about...Coleman's new toy:

I only wish I were kidding. On Saturday morning, I needed to get a shower before the party. I put him in the bathroom with me with a basket full of toys, as usual. Sometimes he plays with the shower curtain, sometimes he plays with the hair bands I have hanging from the vanity, sometimes he actually plays with one of the MILLION toys he has, but as I peeked out of the shower, I found that Coleman had discovered the toilet and was happily playing in it. :( So with toilet water everywhere, I quickly grabbed Coleman, making sure his hands went no where near his mouth, stripped him and got him in the shower with me. That was tricky too...babies are slippery when wet! Ugh.

Trick or Treat?

2009-11-01T08:34:00.007-06:00

I'll take a trick, please. Coleman...perform! (You can ignore the first half of the video. The last half is his new trick!)

Coleman's quite the little dare devil these days. He's been holding on to me, or the table, or the brick fireplace (which makes me nervous) and letting go to practice standing on his own. I can't believe he's actually doing that! As you can see he hasn't quite mastered it, but it won't take long, just like everything else.

Halloween was fun this year. We attended the first birthday of Coleman's friend Wade. The party was at the Grace Museum which has all of this fun stuff I never knew about! The kids Coleman's age stuck to the "tot spot" and played with each other. Here's a few pictures of Coleman and his buddy, and some of him checking out the skeleton display.

It really is amazing to me the social skills these kids have already learned. It was fun actually watching Coleman interact with these kids. Usually, all I do is drop him off. I've never seen him play! Here's a little video of Coleman an Wade playing:

After the party we met up with Hayley, Jeff and Aunt Pat to eat, then back to Hayley's and Jeff's for chocolate peanut butter milk shakes and to pass out candy to trick or treater's. We accomplished the chocolate peanut butter milk shake thing, but there were absolutely NO trick or treater's that came to the door! So sad, but that's okay. We just watched a movie and relaxed.

I feel like there's more I wanted to blog about, but Coleman's down for a nap, which means I need to be getting stuff done. Hope everyone's Halloween was FUN and SAFE! Have a great week!

My Boo

2009-10-29T06:54:00.008-05:00

All of the kiddos are wearing their costumes this morning at daycare. I find it humorous that we buy costumes for our babies - but they are so cute in them it just has to be done! Here's a few pictures of "My Boo" when I dropped him off.

Apparently, Coleman's nickname at daycare is "monkey" so I guess the costume is fitting!

We planned to go to Austin this weekend, but we had to cancel. I'm so sad about that! I want to meet little Crawford so bad! It's a bummer. :( We'll be sticking around Abilene instead and handing out candy with Hayley and Jeff. Since we're staying in town, we'll also be going to a birthday party of a little kid in Coleman's daycare class. It should be a fun Halloween party to go to and hopefully I'll get lots more pictures of Coleman in his monkey costume!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Sad Morning

2009-10-27T07:58:00.007-05:00

This morning is a sad one. Coleman has always done really great at daycare. He gets so excited when he sees kids his size that he can play with and he LOVES the girls that take care of him. This morning, however, is the first morning he cried when I left him. He just had the saddest face when the girl took him from my arms. And listening to him cry as I walked out the door was almost tear-jerking. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones that are making me so emotional about this, but what makes it worse is I might not get to see him for the rest of the day because I have a work dinner I'm going to. I know he'll be fine, but my heart will hurt all day for him I'm sure. :( Needless to say I'm feeling a little guilty about being a working mom right now. I just keep telling myself that being a working mom makes me a better mom when I'm with him. Hopefully I'll be busy today and won't have time to think about him being sad.

Coleman - I miss you and love you very much!! Be a good boy today and have fun with your friends. If I'm not home before you go to bed I'll be anxiously awaiting you waking up tomorrow morning and will hold you, hug you and love on you as much as possible. You're so precious!