Here are a few sayings from Miles lately:
"kang-ku mom" - "Thank you, Mom"
Miles was driving his Gator with his milk in the back from the boys' bedroom out to the kitchen. Cooper and I were building a garage together, blocking the door to the hallway. Miles said, "Scuse me kids!" several times until we moved.
In bed tonight, I was reading Miles a book called "Let's Share." At one point, he said, "Zoe has two, that girl, none" to describe a picture. That is the perfect description! He is getting so good at putting words together!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Blog Material
Nate had an overnight trip this week, and it seems to always happen that my best blog-material-moments happen while Nate is away. I think the reason for this is two-fold. First, we are all a little off when "Daddy" is gone. Emotions are often heightened, and our normal routine is just different. Second, when Nate isn't here for me to vent to, I vent to the blog. :) So without further ado:
We did our weekly Walmart shopping trip yesterday morning. I usually start in the nonfood section and then end with the food so it is out of the refrigerator the least amount of time possible. As I walked towards the nonperishables, Miles looked at me and said, "poopy." "Okay, Buddy. I'll head to the bathroom after I finish up over here." I finished the nonfood items and headed to the back. As we traveled, Miles continued to express his need, with increased frequency and intensity. I parked the cart near the bathroom, and Miles screamed at me, "POOPY!" I leaned in to him to whisper a message, as I try to do when I feel like screaming at him, and as I began to say, "Miles, please stop yelling," he gave me a huge head butt. Forehead to forehead. I was beside myself! What is a mom to do with that? And just when I thought I was at my witt's end, the bathroom was "Out of Operation." Really? Do I really have to walk all the way to the front of the store with both of my children, one of whom is shouting "POOPY" at me in order to take my potty training kid to the toilet? Needless to say, I changed a poopy diaper for the first time in several days that morning.
Thursday night was Bolivar Day at the Park at the Springfield Cardinals. Our family had tickets before we knew Nate was going to be traveling, so I invited my friend Sarah to join us. We arrived at the game and quickly found a playground. Sarah left to use the restroom, and I helped Miles go down the slide. When Sarah returned, we were regrouping to go find our seats, and I could not find Cooper anywhere! He was gone! I asked Sarah to stay with Miles, and I rushed to find someone who could help me find Cooper. The woman at the lemonade stand was the first employee I came to, so I rushed to her and said, "I can't find my son - can you help me find my son?" Another worker with a radio came quickly and I explained the situation. She used her radio to alert the stadium workers that a 3 year old was missing. They immediately locked down all the gates and began to look. I couldn't stand still and walked around in a frenzy, looking for Cooper between answering the lady's questions. "What color is his hair?" "The same color as mine!" "What color is his shirt?" "Gray - just like my shirt!" (We all - and I mean EVERYONE - had matching shirts for Bolivar Day at the Park.) "So - if you were to call your hair a color, what would that be?" "LIGHT BROWN!"
Within five minutes, they had found a little boy without his mom and indicated to us that we needed to meet them near gate 2. Not long after that I saw a man walking towards me, holding my child. I grabbed Cooper and held on to him so tight. We hugged and cried for several seconds. That was one of the most terrifying experiences of my entire life. For the rest of the evening, Sarah and I did not let go of the kids' hands - she held on tight to one and I held on tight to the other. I am so thankful for that girl! I knew that I couldn't take my kids to a baseball game by myself, and I was SO RIGHT! :) When I was by myself, I lost one of them! My thoery is that Cooper saw Sarah leave for the restroom and followed her, thinking we were all going somewhere. I asked him later where he was going, and he said he was looking for me. Poor guy thought I walked off and left him!
So besides that few minutes of terror, it was a very enjoyable evening. We didn't see much of the game, but the experience was very fun! And I left praising God for my sons and His protection over them!
We did our weekly Walmart shopping trip yesterday morning. I usually start in the nonfood section and then end with the food so it is out of the refrigerator the least amount of time possible. As I walked towards the nonperishables, Miles looked at me and said, "poopy." "Okay, Buddy. I'll head to the bathroom after I finish up over here." I finished the nonfood items and headed to the back. As we traveled, Miles continued to express his need, with increased frequency and intensity. I parked the cart near the bathroom, and Miles screamed at me, "POOPY!" I leaned in to him to whisper a message, as I try to do when I feel like screaming at him, and as I began to say, "Miles, please stop yelling," he gave me a huge head butt. Forehead to forehead. I was beside myself! What is a mom to do with that? And just when I thought I was at my witt's end, the bathroom was "Out of Operation." Really? Do I really have to walk all the way to the front of the store with both of my children, one of whom is shouting "POOPY" at me in order to take my potty training kid to the toilet? Needless to say, I changed a poopy diaper for the first time in several days that morning.
Thursday night was Bolivar Day at the Park at the Springfield Cardinals. Our family had tickets before we knew Nate was going to be traveling, so I invited my friend Sarah to join us. We arrived at the game and quickly found a playground. Sarah left to use the restroom, and I helped Miles go down the slide. When Sarah returned, we were regrouping to go find our seats, and I could not find Cooper anywhere! He was gone! I asked Sarah to stay with Miles, and I rushed to find someone who could help me find Cooper. The woman at the lemonade stand was the first employee I came to, so I rushed to her and said, "I can't find my son - can you help me find my son?" Another worker with a radio came quickly and I explained the situation. She used her radio to alert the stadium workers that a 3 year old was missing. They immediately locked down all the gates and began to look. I couldn't stand still and walked around in a frenzy, looking for Cooper between answering the lady's questions. "What color is his hair?" "The same color as mine!" "What color is his shirt?" "Gray - just like my shirt!" (We all - and I mean EVERYONE - had matching shirts for Bolivar Day at the Park.) "So - if you were to call your hair a color, what would that be?" "LIGHT BROWN!"
Within five minutes, they had found a little boy without his mom and indicated to us that we needed to meet them near gate 2. Not long after that I saw a man walking towards me, holding my child. I grabbed Cooper and held on to him so tight. We hugged and cried for several seconds. That was one of the most terrifying experiences of my entire life. For the rest of the evening, Sarah and I did not let go of the kids' hands - she held on tight to one and I held on tight to the other. I am so thankful for that girl! I knew that I couldn't take my kids to a baseball game by myself, and I was SO RIGHT! :) When I was by myself, I lost one of them! My thoery is that Cooper saw Sarah leave for the restroom and followed her, thinking we were all going somewhere. I asked him later where he was going, and he said he was looking for me. Poor guy thought I walked off and left him!
So besides that few minutes of terror, it was a very enjoyable evening. We didn't see much of the game, but the experience was very fun! And I left praising God for my sons and His protection over them!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A Man Weekend
On Friday afternoon, Carey left for a weekend trip with some girlfriends to Branson. Besides the excitement for her to have a break, I was looking forward to some time with the boys. So, here is a brief summary of our first real 'man' weekend.
Like any man weekend, it centered around food. We went to the boy's favorite place Friday night (El Rodeo) and that was followed with some chocolate custard at 3G's. The boys requested that we drive around and so we did! It was a really pretty evening and we had a great time. Bedtime was uneventful and by 8:30PM I had the evening to myself. After a little work, a little cleaning, and some veg time in front of the TV I called it a night.
Saturday proved to be a big day! We all slept in (which was really great and lots of fun!!) but then got right to business. We spent the morning at the Farmers Market, C&C (a favorite farm supply store), Quarrels Supply to pick up the remaining accessories for the Big Green Egg, and packed for our adventure in Springfield! While we were at Quarrels Supply (a general hardware store that has electrical, plumbing, and farm supplies), Cooper tells me he has to go to the bathroom. We were near the plumbing hardware section where they have lots of toilets on display. I told Cooper we'd have to go find the bathroom as I wasn't sure where it was. He looks at me, looks at the line of toilets on display, looks back at me and says 'Dad. There are plenty of toilets right there that I can use.' I then had to explain that those were not hooked up (let alone the fact that they were not in private!). For the rest of the day, Cooper would double check to ensure toilets in the restrooms were hooked up. How fun to experience these kind of things with my babies!
In Springfield, we picked up lunch at McDonalds, a toy storage box at Lowes, and a few things at Outdoor Home. When we came home, Miles took a nap and Cooper helped me work on a table for the Egg and assemble the storage box. We cooked our first pizza on the Egg and it was AWESOME. I think Cooper is just about as excited to cook things on the Egg as I am! I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that the Egg is green...just like John Deere of course. After pizza and lots of playing in the toy box, we all called it a night. Besides waking up in the middle of the night to find Miles stuck under his bed (don't ask me how he got there), it was pretty uneventful.
This morning, keeping with the food topic, I got up early and put on a beef brisket. I'm pumped about seeing how it turns out!! With the temps cooling off in the morning, it was a fantastic way to start the day. What could be better than a cool morning, watching the sun come up in a rocking chair, and the smell of smoked meat?!
Here is a picture of the Egg in action!
Like any man weekend, it centered around food. We went to the boy's favorite place Friday night (El Rodeo) and that was followed with some chocolate custard at 3G's. The boys requested that we drive around and so we did! It was a really pretty evening and we had a great time. Bedtime was uneventful and by 8:30PM I had the evening to myself. After a little work, a little cleaning, and some veg time in front of the TV I called it a night.
Saturday proved to be a big day! We all slept in (which was really great and lots of fun!!) but then got right to business. We spent the morning at the Farmers Market, C&C (a favorite farm supply store), Quarrels Supply to pick up the remaining accessories for the Big Green Egg, and packed for our adventure in Springfield! While we were at Quarrels Supply (a general hardware store that has electrical, plumbing, and farm supplies), Cooper tells me he has to go to the bathroom. We were near the plumbing hardware section where they have lots of toilets on display. I told Cooper we'd have to go find the bathroom as I wasn't sure where it was. He looks at me, looks at the line of toilets on display, looks back at me and says 'Dad. There are plenty of toilets right there that I can use.' I then had to explain that those were not hooked up (let alone the fact that they were not in private!). For the rest of the day, Cooper would double check to ensure toilets in the restrooms were hooked up. How fun to experience these kind of things with my babies!
In Springfield, we picked up lunch at McDonalds, a toy storage box at Lowes, and a few things at Outdoor Home. When we came home, Miles took a nap and Cooper helped me work on a table for the Egg and assemble the storage box. We cooked our first pizza on the Egg and it was AWESOME. I think Cooper is just about as excited to cook things on the Egg as I am! I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that the Egg is green...just like John Deere of course. After pizza and lots of playing in the toy box, we all called it a night. Besides waking up in the middle of the night to find Miles stuck under his bed (don't ask me how he got there), it was pretty uneventful.
This morning, keeping with the food topic, I got up early and put on a beef brisket. I'm pumped about seeing how it turns out!! With the temps cooling off in the morning, it was a fantastic way to start the day. What could be better than a cool morning, watching the sun come up in a rocking chair, and the smell of smoked meat?!
Here is a picture of the Egg in action!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Counting
Out of the blue, Miles started counting. He has been attempting to count for quite some time. It has sounded something like, "two, one, two." Last night he counted with his dad to 11! Tonight, he counted to 10 with me and then after 10 he said "21" and laughed. He thought he was pretty funny.
Last Week
Last week, my mom came to Bolivar to stay with us Wednesday through Saturday. Our beloved Ms. Lisa was visiting her family in Arkansas, so my Mom came to watch the boys while I worked on Wednesday and Friday. Here we are smiling together. :) Just like high school girls. :)
We celebrated Mom's birthday while she was here. My mom is a fruity dessert kinda lady, so I decided to make her a pie, with her coaching. This is the 2nd or 3rd pie I have ever attempted to makem and even with her here to help me, it was quite the struggle! (In fact, it may be the last pie I ever make.) But nonetheless, we had pie for Mom's birthday, and I think it was even kinda good. (I'm not a pie person, so I wouldn't know!)
While Mom was here, we made hummingbird feeders with the boys. You can barely see it in the picture below, but we have had a hummingbird eating out of one of the feeders frequently! I didn't really expect they would be used, so I have been pleasantly surprised! My Grandma and Grandpa Nevergold LOVED hummingbirds. I didn't know them well, so this small thing makes me feel more connected to them.
Mom brought some fun bubble wands with her that made really large bubbles. For the most part, I used the wand to make bubbles, and Coop and Miles ran around smashing the bubbles with their wands.
And, last but not least, I made the single most impacting home improvement to our home this last weekend. With some encouragement from my dad, I researched and found how to replace our push-button flushers with handles. My children can now flush their own business without my help. Gone are the days of finding surprises left behind for me to flush! I. Am. Thrilled. :) (The boys love it, too!)
We celebrated Mom's birthday while she was here. My mom is a fruity dessert kinda lady, so I decided to make her a pie, with her coaching. This is the 2nd or 3rd pie I have ever attempted to makem and even with her here to help me, it was quite the struggle! (In fact, it may be the last pie I ever make.) But nonetheless, we had pie for Mom's birthday, and I think it was even kinda good. (I'm not a pie person, so I wouldn't know!)
While Mom was here, we made hummingbird feeders with the boys. You can barely see it in the picture below, but we have had a hummingbird eating out of one of the feeders frequently! I didn't really expect they would be used, so I have been pleasantly surprised! My Grandma and Grandpa Nevergold LOVED hummingbirds. I didn't know them well, so this small thing makes me feel more connected to them.
Mom brought some fun bubble wands with her that made really large bubbles. For the most part, I used the wand to make bubbles, and Coop and Miles ran around smashing the bubbles with their wands.
And, last but not least, I made the single most impacting home improvement to our home this last weekend. With some encouragement from my dad, I researched and found how to replace our push-button flushers with handles. My children can now flush their own business without my help. Gone are the days of finding surprises left behind for me to flush! I. Am. Thrilled. :) (The boys love it, too!)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sun-Day
I was getting Cooper ready for church this morning, and he said, "Mom, it looks like it's going to rain!" I agreed. He said, "But Mom, we're going to church today." I thought he was concerned that we might get wet in our church clothes, so I said, "Oh - it's okay, buddy, we can get wet in our church clothes." Still concerned, he said, "But Mom, we are supposed to go to church on Sun-day. A sunny day." Now I understand the confusion. :)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Miles
The cucumbers in our garden have been quite bitter this summer. Miles is very aware that they are bitter. Mr. Craig sent a few of his cucumbers home for our family. I told the boys that the cucumbers I was cutting up for lunch were from Mr. Craig, not from our garden. Miles said, "Mr. Craig - good. Mommy and Daddy - bad." I think he got the concept.
Tonight, Nate was lying in bed with Miles, getting ready to read him books. Miles wanted me to read him books, so he said, "Daddy out that bed. Mommy in that bed."
He's getting pretty good at communicating what he wants!!
Tonight, Nate was lying in bed with Miles, getting ready to read him books. Miles wanted me to read him books, so he said, "Daddy out that bed. Mommy in that bed."
He's getting pretty good at communicating what he wants!!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Family Vacation
Based on our past experiences with vacations, we debated for quite some time whether or not to take one this year. After much thought, we decided to go for it! However, given the past trips, we did consider our lessons learned - use reputable hotels, don't travel too far with little ones (especially accross multiple time zones), and don't stay too long. The end result? Our family went to Branson this past Sunday through Wednesday! We had such an awesome trip! it was the perfect distance, there were lots of great activities, and the length of the trip was just right.
Seeing Cooper enjoy this trip gave us a small preview of what is to come. Miles still had a hard time here and there, but we have hope!! We pulled into our hotel parking lot to find our room, and Miles started saying, "home." (Translation - "I want to go home!") He repeated that several times throughout the trip.
On Sunday we drove to Branson and hit the Outlet Mall. We couldn't check in until 3:00 p.m., so the boys missed their nap. They did so well considering! We hit the motel pool that afternoon, and settled in for the night.
On Monday, we headed to Silver Dollar City. Cooper was so brave! We rode the elephant ride twice and the swinging boat once.
Nate and the boys enjoyed the ball area - shooting balls out of large guns.
Seeing Cooper enjoy this trip gave us a small preview of what is to come. Miles still had a hard time here and there, but we have hope!! We pulled into our hotel parking lot to find our room, and Miles started saying, "home." (Translation - "I want to go home!") He repeated that several times throughout the trip.
On Sunday we drove to Branson and hit the Outlet Mall. We couldn't check in until 3:00 p.m., so the boys missed their nap. They did so well considering! We hit the motel pool that afternoon, and settled in for the night.
On Monday, we headed to Silver Dollar City. Cooper was so brave! We rode the elephant ride twice and the swinging boat once.
Nate and the boys enjoyed the ball area - shooting balls out of large guns.
Monday night we went to the Landing to eat and shop a little more. Even though he had a nap that day, Miles would NOT smile for a picture. No way.
On Tuesday we headed to White Water for the morning. Again, Cooper loved it! Miles struggled a bit, but enjoyed some parts, too. That afternoon, when we went home for naps, I had one of my favorite moments of the entire trip. Miles was having trouble falling asleep for nap, and there were some noises in the hotel. After one noise, I went in to check on Miles. After reassuring him, Cooper said, "It's okay Miles. Don't worry, Mom, I'll stay with Miles until he falls asleep." And then to Miles, "Miles - do you want to play some night time games?" Cooper didn't fall asleep for a nap that day, but when he slipped out of Miles room, he said, "He's asleep, Mom." I caught him going into Miles' room to check on him several times that afternoon. So sweet!
Tuesday night we headed to Dolly Parton's show, The Dixie Stampede. We were only able to get 2 tickets, so Cooper and Miles had to stay on our laps the entire time. Once again, Cooper did awesome! He was very entertained by the show, and was a great chair buddy! Miles, on the other hand, struggled to stay focused. As soon as the food was gone, so was Miles. :) We went to the bathroom twice, and then he spent some time under the table by my feet. (While this would normally be a no-no and completely gross me out, I let it go so I could enjoy the show!) Here we are after the show with the main host's beautiful Belgian horse. What a fun show!
Overall we had a VERY fun time in Branson! I am thankful that Cooper had so much fun and was such a delight! We have hope that Bethell Family Vacations will continue to improve as we learn and grow as a family!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hair Dryer
This morning, I said to Cooper, "Coop - are you ready for me to dry my hair?" His reply: "Unfortunately, no."
Friday, July 2, 2010
Toy Story 3
Nate took Cooper to see Toy Story 3 in the theater yesterday - Cooper's first theater experience. He came home from the movie and told me quite a bit about the plot, so he was obviously into the show. I asked him if he wore the glasses, and he said, "When I put my glasses on, I was right in the middle of the movie!" So true. I was sad that I couldn't be part of that experience, but so thankful that I have a husband who loves our children so much! They had a great time together, sharing soda and popcorn. :)
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