Morning Saga of the choo choo shirt

For the past 5 days now, Cole has worn one of the two Thomas the Train shirts he has. He really favors the blue one from Target. He wants to wear it literally every day. Sometimes I can persuade him to wear the other one, but he does it very begrudgingly. Yesterday I was so proud to find yet another Thomas the Train shirt to add to our collection. I had it all washed and ready for him to wear today---but boy, was that the WRONG idea. He ONLY wants to wear his Target one (which he has worn THREE days in a row now) and after this morning I've learned that no other shirt will do now--not even another Thomas shirt. I really hope this is a super quick phase that ends quickly!

First thing when he woke up he started saying "Choo Choo" shirt. When I brought the new one to him he threw it across the room so upset. Not even the one he sometimes wears would do. That one was thrown across the room too. Instead, he took out the very dirty one from the dirty clothes basket and demanded to wear it. That poor shirt has stains all over it and was so grimy from being worn three days in a row, there was no way without it being washed. So off to the laundry it went. I put it in on quick wash after all???!! He lost it. And I timed it, for 11 minutes, this was Cole, crying, throwing an absolute fit on the stairs. "Choo Choo" "Choo Choo" wails could be heard all through the house.

 We were finally good for a time to have some milk and calm down. But then it was time for the shirt to go in the dryer. Bring on fit number 2. And he hasn't even been up for an hour. This time he stood for 10 minutes or so (thank goodness that shirt dries quick!) in the laundry room crying.

 The shirt was clean and dry just in time for us to get dressed and head out to the library. He was too distraught earlier to even eat anything for breakfast, so he had the breakfast of champions this morning (aka goldfish and bunny grahams) on the way to the library. From the moment he put the beloved shirt back on, he was a more calm and happy boy. He's been telling me and Camryn--and anyone who will listen--ever since "Choo Choo Clean". Or "Choo Choo Dry". I really hope this is just a week-long, quick phase.???? In the meantime, looks like I'll be washing this one and only Thomas the Train shirt every night...!

Out in the Wild

Before Maggie and Fisher headed back to Ft. Collins we got in all our Fisher and Maggie love time and also spent a great day at the zoo! 

We woke up last Friday morning to such horrible, awful news of the movie theater shootings. It was so hard to tear myself away from the TV watching the depressing spectacle, but we rallied and headed to the zoo with yummy lunches and our trusty wagon in tow. I'm so happy we went. In the past, our experience at the Denver Zoo has been fun--but always leaves us wanting a little something more somehow. The animals aren't out as much no matter how different we time things, it's hard for the kids to see over the fences they have set up, the train has never been working, one of the kids is in a fussy mood, etc. But last Friday all the stars seemed to align for us! Every animal we walked by was not only out, but active and in clear view for us to see. The crowds were pretty light so we could maneuver ourselves around, between and within the fencing to see better. All the kids were in such happy spirits (probably because Fisher was there!) AND the train was up and running finally!!!

The big highlight was riding the choo choo. It was the first time my kids have ever been on a train and it was so exciting for Cole! He's STILL talking about the choo choo at the zoo to this day. Other highlights were finally seeing more than 1 elephant--and in the actual new Elephant Passage. We saw one right above us about to go over a bridge. The rhinos were out rolling in the mud, penguins were out playing, and Cole got to ride the merry go round TWICE with Fisher!

 Cole held Fisher's hand so well throughout the zoo and was so good about staying with him. At least they listen to Fisher since they certainly are minding me LESS and less these days...

 Despite the drama seen here, Camryn really did like the choo choo. We sat in the caboose and she said over and over "choo choo, choo choo". Then she really perked up with excitement when the train went past the flamingos.

 Fisher's favorite part of the zoo was seeing the komodo dragon AND getting a komodo dragon!

 Cam likes zebras. Even more exciting, the zebra was right up at the fence wagging its tail saying hi to us when we saw it. She calls them "zeh-bras" though. So it was fitting she had the "zeh-bra" plate at lunch.

 She's trying to get under the rope to get up to the "Zeh-bra" even closer...No fear, that girl!

 Later that night Maggie was nice enough to stay home with the kids so Matt and I could have a date night.

 The next morning Maggie and Fisher went back to Ft. Collins and sadness set in for Cole. We all waved bye bye at the front door to them (as our usual ritual), and as the car drove off, Cole started having actual tears. :( Poor Coley. Camryn, on the other hand, said her goodbyes properly then took advantage of Fisher leaving his dino library books for them and immediately sat down with them to have a reading time. After a good 10 minutes or so, Cole got happier and enjoyed Fisher's books with Cam...

 That same day we had Matt's company Carnival Party. It's been SO HOT here and this past weekend, particularly while we were at the party, was no exception. At one point Cole spilled water down his shirt. It should've felt cooler and stuff---but he didn't want to be in a wet shirt, so while it was drying he sported the shirtless look for the party!

 We had a great time there. The kids overloaded on sweets and junk food like big suckers, cotton candy, hard candies, popcorn, etc. They were also excited that there were bowls with a goldfish swimming in them at each of the tables. "Elmo's Dorothy" they kept saying. They got animal balloons and tattoos, which are still fresh and glittery on their arms 4 days later.

 Still hot outside, we took to our own little pool in our backyard Sunday. They stay busy in the pool watering things and filling up their buckets. They also like to run in this little crazy sprinkler we have. They were out there for 2+ hours on Sunday.

Yesterday I had good intentions of joining up with our MOPS friends for an outing. Once I realized it was at a water park though, I had to bow out and go to plan B. I'm just not up physically and in other ways to tackle a water park with these two right now. While they love swimming they have no survival skills with it and adults do all the work when they're in a normal, big pool. I just had images of these two tumbling down a big water slide--and me tumbling after them. Hopefully we'll be better for those kinds of places next year instead. 

So plan B was the mall. We love Flatirons mall. We had success finding some cute stuff at Old Navy and played for a long time in the always fun kids dino area there. To my surprise, they ate really well from Subway. Apples and turkey/cheese sandwiches hit the spot yesterday. Oh, and of course they polished off probably more than half my bag of chips...! I love those little kid sized picnic tables they have in the food court there. 

4th of July and "Hand, Foot, and Mouth" settles in

We were so excited that Nana and Papa came for a quick visit over the 4th of July! Our neighborhood had a 4th of July parade and rumor had it there were awards for the best decorated bikes and wagons. Challenge accepted! 

 Everyone looks great, festive and ready for the parade!

 The parade looped twice around the big park area. Cole loved it the whole time smiling and waving at us when they'd pass by. Cam wasn't so sure at first. She kind of "hid" her head--but then by the second time around she had a huge smile and was waving the whole time!

 Oh yeah. We got award, alright. They gave away a couple "Best in Show" and then a "Most Creative". Not sure what the other awards were but we definitely got those two!

 There were popsicles afterwards and that was almost better than riding in the wagon through the parade.

 Some more parade pictures....

 Now back to more popsicles...

 We made an awesome and yummy sangria on the 4th too...

 It was enjoyed all day!

 A couple more 4th of July pics

 Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Jackie for the great KU gear!!

 We went to Boulder for a little bit with Matt's parents. I had to get proof that at least one of my babies actually slept in a stroller for a little bit. Unheard of. Now it's documented. Wonder if it will ever happen again? I won't hold my breath.

 Then...we got to go to see Boyz II Men in Ft. Collins. It was awesome. I wanted to go back to the early 90's like no other.

 We all got carded to drink there...Maya got through with her ID too...!

 Meanwhile, Cole and Cam had a great evening with Nana and Papa. Cam still likes to lead story times at the house.

 The next day we went to Vail. Then it finally decided to rain. Not complaining about the much needed rain, but it kind of put a crazy twist on our afternoon there!

 We also hit up the Golden Farmer's Market again. This time I was sure to pick up some of that good looking bread! The 4H club had their sweet horses out too...

 Here's a pic of Camryn's first time in her big girl car seat. Finally! She wasn't too thrilled. She kept saying "buckle owwwie". She's slowly getting used to it more.

 Hmmmm... Out of order pictures again. Here's lunch in Boulder...

 And another random Boyz II Men concert pic!...

 The last night Matt's parents were here we went to this big Italian buffet restaurant. Here's a pic of the 3 good eaters that night. Yes, believe it or not, Camryn ate like a champ that night. ???

 Poor Coley. This is the night he took a turn for the worse. He ran a fever all day and it only kept getting higher as the evening went on. Once we got home the temporal thermometer read 106. Yikes!! Time to visit our kids urgent care here for the first time. It was actually quite nice (not that I want to have repeat visits there or anything), the waiting room was full of great kids things and we had a great experience with the nurses and doctor and rooms, etc. all things considered. His fever climbed down to 105 then to 104 right when we got there. He got a lovely tylenol suppository and it went down to 102 pretty quickly, thank goodness. He had some sores at the back of this throat which led to the diagnosis of the infamous "Hand, Foot, and Mouth" virus. It's going around everywhere here in a strong way lately. We're SHOCKED Cam hasn't shown horrible signs of anything...yet. Also turns out I've been UNDER dosing the ibuprofen. No wonder his fever only continued to shoot up. We're now on children's ibuprofen with a much larger, more appropriate for his weight, dosage. The only thing we can do is ibuprofen for when the fevers strike. Unfortunately we've been dealing with Hand, Foot, and Mouth for a week and a half now, it will not go away!!!! All seemed to be good by about Tuesday of last week--but then a couple days ago (Monday) he woke up with a 102.5 fever again. We went to the doctor and he's still got some sores in the back of his throat. The doctor said this is a pesky virus and it's not uncommon for it to hang around. Grrrrrr!!!!

 (Cam was pulling double duty tending to baby doll during dinner too. Good thing Cole's high chair was vacant so baby doll could eat in it!)

 Once again, what would a good virus be without it getting into me too? Yep, just a few days after our urgent care visit, I had a horrible night full of fevers and coughs. I was able to get into the doctor that next morning, but I kept feeling worse and worse. I had a 104 fever that wouldn't go down easily and a high heart rate (150's) which sent me straight over to the ER in the hospital from my appointment. They did an X-ray to rule out pneumonia and gave me some feel-good meds and fluids. 3 bags of fluids later I was feeling a little better and went back home that same evening. Fever was down to around 102 and my heart rate was down to the 120's. My official diagnosis: Upper respiratory virus and a bladder infection. Thank the Heavens things worked out with Jennifer's family and Maggie was able to come that night to save the day. Especially because Matt was leaving for Houston for work at 5am the next morning. Of course. I'm so appreciative of Maggie and so blessed she's here and was able to come and save us. I don't know what we would've done. It wasn't until about 2 days later that the fevers stayed away for good and I was able to be amongst the living again.

Cole and Cam were in Heaven. They literally worship Fisher, he is their idol. Cole especially has a particular fondness for Fisher! He always wants to sit next to him, eat the same things, follow him around, play the same way, etc.

 Cam is in love with Elmo. It was great when Elmo was thinking about dino's the other day!

 Fisher likes to entertain the babies when they take baths, so I guess Cole thinks he needs to keep Fisher company when he takes baths too...

 We were SO EXCITED when Aunt Stacey and Jason came for a quick weekend visit. We had a great time. The kids warmed up to Aunt Stacey pretty instantly. Cole took a little longer and then he warmed up to Jason. Cam finally warmed up to Jason the morning the night before they left. We spent our first evening back in Boulder, it was a nice evening.

 While Aunt Stacey was here we also discovered the YouTube video "I'm Elmo and I Know It" (think the LMFAO song). It was the first thing Cam requested when she woke up the next morning. Literally, I was pulling her out of her crib and she started demanding ELMO ELMO ELMO!!!

 This girl loves her ice cream, that's for certain!!!

 Aunt Stacey did a good "eat your ice cream" picture too...!

 As mentioned before, Cole woke up with a fever and a return of the hand, foot, and mouth episode so it was just Cam going to school Monday morning. I was wondering how she would handle it and she did great. She got her back pack (and baby, of course), all her swim gear and happily headed into school. She commented how "Coley sick" and I guess she told several people that throughout the day. When I picked her up later her teacher told me she had one of her best days ever! She said it seems her and Cole feed off of each other with emotions and they tend to be more sensitive around each other. None of that went on Monday. They said she had the most fun out of everyone at splash day and she played exceptionally well with all her friends. Way to go, Cam!!!

 Today we went to the library for our fun story time and fun book time. This time Fisher and Maggie got to come with us, making it even more fun. Between Fisher (who loves dino's) and Camryn (who is becoming quite the Dino girl herself!) we came home with 8 dino-related books!

 And we got to have our nice lunch down by the creek! What a great day---and week it's been with Maggie here. Now if that super annoying hand, foot, and mouth will just GO AWAY!!!!