Cheese is good

MORE CHEESE PLEASE!

Put the Pepperoni HERE

And more Pepperoni Here, Yummy!

It's been so long!

Well we are getting closer to her due date. I finally have an appointment next week with the surgeon who will be performing my C- Section. This little girl moves and shakes like crazy compared to Cole. We had another Ultrasound, My doctor is a little bit cautious and since "She" is a 2 blood vessel umbilical cord she likes to keep tabs on her progress. She is gaining weight just fine and we got some great 3-D ultrasound photos. You can see her chubby cheeks and pouty lips. Cole, Chad and I have been crazy busy with all the different doctor's appointments, play groups, and trying to get the house in order before our little girl makes her appearance. Cole makes it hard to clean once you gather and place Cole is there moving and resorting for you. Chad is pretty impressed that I can still bend over and pick up toys, books and the like. Cole will have his first dental appointment in a couple weeks. Am I weird because I want to take pictures? Well I do not care how nerdy I look I am bringing my Camera. I will share pictures of course! We will have more pictures soon.

Squishy Face

What The?

About two weeks ago the Oscar Meyer Wiener mobile was in the parking lot at my work. Since this was the first time I ever saw this vehicle in person I called Chad to let him know that the ultimate in brainwashing Advertising was here in Spokane. He brought Cole along and got a couple pictures of Cole checking out his wiener whistle and Cole making his mark for his T- shirt that he won. The T-shirt is as tall as he is, it is an Adult large. Unfortunately since our child is an escape artist, and like I mentioned before this was in a parking lot, there is no wide angle shot of the actual wiener mobile but you can see pieces of the bun. There is also a picture of little man Cole in the grocery store shopping cart. Which by the way is a God send. Instead of a quick 10 min run we now can spend up to a Half and hour because he is occupied with the Car and the steering wheels. Yes there is seating for two in the car. I hope the person who thought up this idea got a huge raise!

CAR!!!!

Make your Mark

Ultrasound 7-6-05

Here is the recent picture of our little girl. She is gaining her weight just fine. She is now estimated over 2 pounds. In the picture she is looking at the camera you can see the outline of her chubby cheeks. She is measuring 5 days larger than her due date of September 28th. Cole attended this Ultrasound and amazed the Tech with his exclamations of Baby, Baby! He also wanted to lay on the table with me, We cuddled together while the tech got the last measurements she needed. My friend Amy came along since Chad had to work and thank Goodness she did, Someone had to coral Cole. Thanks a lot Amy. I am doing great slight mood swings but otherwise very good. Chad hasn't moved out of the house yet due to my mood swings so all is well. As soon as we know a date of her scheduled C-section we will post.

It's a Parade!

It is the 4th of July and Chad and Cole were able to attend the Annual Johnson 4th of July parade. This tiny town grows 200 times it's original size. It really is amazing to see the turn out. This is Cole's 2nd visit since he barley got out of the hospital from his birth in 2003. He was lucky enough to have prime seats with grandma and grandpa. Grandpa did not drive his 35 Ford this year in the parade he was able to sit back and relax. Chad was our photographer while mommy was at work making sure all of Spokane had there sewing and craft needs fulfilled. Also in the prime seats were Arlene and Lela, surrogate grandparents to Chad and selfproclaimed Autie's to Cole. Not sure how that work but hey Family is Family. In one of the pictures you can see Cole signing Train while the caboose that traditionally ends the parade passed by. Cole sign has grown from just rubbing his two fingers on top of each other to rubbing his forearms on top of each other when he gets really excited. At the Leonard Family BBQ Cole enjoyed Cold Beverages and a tasty hot dog. This trip to see Grandma and Grandpa was not short of sugar although Chad did not go into details as not to make me pin Cole down for an intensive teeth brushing. Spokane has No fluoride regulation in the water and I want Cole's teeth to have a fighting chance. Cole also got to go for a ride in Charley, the 35 Ford for those of you who went who? and ewww! He got to ride in the rumble seat with Daddy then strapped in the car with daddy also. He had so much fun that he was not ready for a nap till the drive home. He went to bed at 8 pm and woke up this morning refreshed and ready for action at 10 a.m.

Parade Watching

mmm Ice!

Driving Charley

TRAIN!! TRAIN!!! TRAIN!!!

Cole is Two!

Cole is Two years old!!! We celebrated at Grandma and Grandpa's house this year. Cole also got to attend the Perkin's House ice cream social. The Band played happy Birthday for him and he tried to blow out candles. He had a better try at grandma and grandpa's where he got one on one training. Although in the pictures below he blew out the candle using his nose. At the end of the day Daddy's favorite Cole memory is Cole dancing around holding an icing topped cupcake singing birthday birthday birthday, Cake. We all had a great time and look forward to more birthdays to come.

nose blow

nose blow 2

laughing at daddy

Cake is good!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you deserving Papa's. You do so much for so little praise. This is Da Da Chad mowing the lawn and keeping our little one occupied. What will he do when we have two? Cole has gone for lawn mower rides and walks around the block when he gets restless. He also takes time to smell the roses with Daddy.

Rose Smelling

Lawn Mower Rides

A Day in the Sun

Yesterday Cole and Mommy spent the day with Grandma, Grandpa, and Cousin Meryl who was visiting from Santa Fe . Grandpa lead the hike and Cole almost made the whole mile journey, about 75 percent of it was uphill. He loved looking at the gravel and rocks on the path. He even sampled some of the rocks on the path. Oh how yummy! That is why his face is so dirty. I got some fun pictures and as you can tell I was lagging behind. I have a really good zoom on my camera. Cole was so tired that on the ride home he passed out and was placed on Grandma's couch and took a nap. I was a little worried that he would wake and be scared because he did not know where he was but no, not Cole he just came and found us on the back porch. We then began to relax in the Hot Tub and Cole enjoyed playing with a treasure chest of floaty things. We completed the day with a barbecue and changed Cole into his sleeper and during the 1 1/2 hour drive home Cole fell fast asleep. He slept till 8:30 this morning. We look forward to another fun day with Grandma and Grandpa.

Cole loving that Scout will wear his hat

Hiking with Gramps and Gran

mmm Rocks

So Sleepy

Hot Tub Fun

Crazy Days

Daddy and Cole really enjoy bedtime storytime. Cole loves to be read to. During the average daytime we read about 6 books about 6 times each and at night after the third book is read you will hear Cole demand "more, more, more" as he puts two fingers together in the sign for more. Some nights we have to call it quits after 4 books and he shouts and cries a little but once we close his door he goes right to bed. I love that he has our love of literature, to bad he is not into classical English literature like me but I think he might enjoy Sci-Fi like his daddy.
Cole now knows to "Smile" when the camera is on him. We have some super cheesy smiles on our hard drive.
Today was a trying day for Cole. He just woke up being in a bad mood. After a 3 hour nap around noon he was back to his usual happy self.
Cole now exclaims "Bloom" for balloon and is happy to shout "CAR" with a Boston accent. He is going through his "Look at me" phase, I know this will last till he is about 80 or so, mostly likely not a phase. He will stand there and scream for your full attention in order to show you his newest trick. For today it is doing a semi chin up using the treadmill.
Well all is quite for now in the Leonard household. All we have to do is be sneaky commando and steal back Cole's favorite Truck book in an hour or so. He would not let Daddy take it away, grasping tightly whining "mine,mine, mine" He loves to page though and make up his own story using his limited vocabulary. Lots of OH NO's and Uh Ohs , CAR , Truck, Beebee, and of course Bo, Bo. (bus) He loves his books so much he has already loved one to pieces.

Muggin' for the camera

Storytime

Sideways

Well little Cole has been able to experiment with new things. We now have a little one who is interested in washing dishes. Actually he is more interested in turning the water off and on in the kitchen sink, filling cups and tea pots, and making a lovely mess. He also likes to empty whole drawers of office supplies out of our desk. Staples have earned the name "ouch". They picked his fingers when he was sorting them after dumping two whole boxes out on the floor. Mommy was none to happy but he let me pick up these offending items with out a fight.This past Monday Cole decide that 4:30 A.M. was the right time to awake for the day. Since Mommy closed at work daddy got to sleep in. We read books and had a early breakfast. Daddy went to work and Cole went down for a nap at 9 A.M. Unfortunatly it lasted only 45 mins. So while Mommy got ready for work and Cole's Sitter Bag together Cole had a grand ole time with his blocks.When Daddy brought Cole home from the sitters Cole only had an additional 1 hour nap. Rolinda kept him awake so he would sleep though the transfer of Car and bed. There was no problem there. He fell asleep in the car after 2 blocks and stayed sleeping like the dead through diaper change, pajamas and continued to sleep though the super bright flash on our camera. Daddy was so amused that Cole slept in our bed till Mommy came home at 10 P.M. We then carried him to his bed and he did not even budge. Did not even turn over to his tummy, Nothing. Like I first said this was entirely novel to us. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings he slept to 9 A.M. , Thank Goodness!!!

Sleeping like the Dead

Bubble Kisses

3-d Ultrasound

Today's ultrasound went fantastic. Our little girl cooperated with the Technician so well that she used the 3-D machine on her. This is a shot from the 3-D machine. The picture does not do justice to what you can see on the Screen. We did obtain Video from this visit so Daddy Chad and Big Brother Cole could see. Cole is just not liking being shut in a room that he can not explore freely. ie. Opening drawers, playing with medical instruments and all that jazz.
Her heart looks good, she has both kidneys and is growing right on schedule. Here's hoping all goes well from now on. The U/S Tech did notice that I have or rather baby Girl has a 2 Vessel umbilical cord. This could pose a problem to normal Childbirth. So looks like another C-section is definitely in my future. Well I guess it will be nice to skip contractions and have a planned birthdate. Unfortunately the healing part is no fun! Well I will have Chad for a week like last time but I know this time will be more difficult due to my little rose smelling toddler. I have invested in a baby sling and have plans to redecorate our bedroom to a wonderful playroom for Cole while I try to heal. I have included pictures of our arch that Chad and I planted Antique Roses when we bought this house almost 4 years ago. This is the first year they have bloomed so well. This is the arch Chad and I were married under 4 years as well this July. Cole loves to smell the roses. We also made a trip to the park tonight after dinner so Cole could use some of his pent up energy. We got a typical shot of his backside. We will have more shots of him soon, the weather is perking up and the swimming pool is all put together. Meanwhile Cole bangs on the back door shouting "OUTSIDE! OUTSIDE!"

Roses a Bloom

Stop and Smell the Roses

Through the Tunnel

All done!

This is the typical Cole photo we have been taking lately. He is seated in his high chair so he can not move in order to be able to get a good shot. He enjoyed his pasta and marinara sauce as you can see.
Cole now knows who the Doctor is and is slightly afraid of being in the Doctor's exam room. We went for my 23rd week prenatal and Cole about went stir crazy being shut in the room. We tried to explain that all was well that the doctor was checking on mom and his soon to be baby sister and all he was interested was working on getting the door open. By the way who ever invented long door handles must have been childless because Cole can open those doors with ease.
Mommy and Baby girl are doing great. I got the okay to use Zantac for my CRAZY heartburn and all I have to do is remember to take it. We heard Her heartbeat on the Doppler which is a new experience for us because Cole did not cooperate at all. (He gave us quite the fright. We had to schedule Ultrasounds for that day to make sure He was alright in there. )
And talk about fetal movement. She must be rehearsing the Tango with flailing arms and kicking legs. We do have her Anatamony Ultrasound scheduled for this Friday so we will update with pictures then.

In Motion

Hello to All!!! Well we have had fun snapping pictures of Cole so we can get more on this Blog. He is so hard to capture with our current digital camera. There is a 2 second lag time. By that time Cole has moved on with life. Here are some that are not so blurry.

Here's Looking at you with Hazel eyes

Pot Head

Pot Head in the bath

Attatched to the Keyboard

Cole has become rather attatched to certain object around the house or outside the house. If it is mine it's mine, if I found it it is mine, if it is yours it is mine. Some times it is just easier to let him have the item and just pray that this possessive streak is over soon. Cole has also been very possessive of his mama lately. He will run through the house yelling Mama? Mama? Till I respond and then he is okay. At his Monday sitter he kept asking for his Mama and all Rolinda could say is she is at work, He was rather perturbed because he wanted to see her now! I rather enjoy this attention because for the previous 20 months it has been all about DA DA!!! Da DA this DA DA that and I was like what am I stale crackers. Cole would most likely be interested in Chopped liver.
Today we went to the park and played for about an hour. We met a nice Russian family who the son was kind of willing to share one of his cars with Cole. When I told the little boy that Cole thinks everything is his the mother explained in broken English that the little boy did not speak English . I smiled and told her neither does Cole, in fact I am not sure what langange he speaks. Actually he is starting to join word together a lot more often now and will mimic Chad and me. He spent yesterday afternoon talking like Froggie from Our Gang which humored Chad a great deal and encouraged this behavior. And when we discussed a picture on the cup he was drinking from he repeated the lines I said from the Toy Story movie while pointing at the cup saying "You're a Toy!" I think that was his first contraction. Made his Mama proud. Part of his languange barrier is translation he drops a lot of vowels and constants. We will take more pictures soon but it is hard to chase a child around a park and snap photos.

Summer and Sand

Hello to all! Well not much really new is going on here in Spokane. The Lilac parade was tonight. Since Chad and I both worked Cole was unable to attend. He did get to spend quality time with his best girl, Rachel. His face just lights up when he sees her. We are showing some pictures of Cole's recent trip to Gymborree. He was having a blast with his friends and it is great to see him interact with other kids. He is not afraid of entering their personal space. That same day at our weekly visit to one of the many Spokane parks a little girl, about 6 or 7, came up to Chad and I and said "Your little boy feels like sunshine, He feels like the beach, you know sun and sand." I think we finally understood. I think it was his Hawaiian shirt he was wearing. I still love to think that our little boy feels like summer all warm and relaxing.

Climbing

Cole and Warren

Poppin' Bubbles with Harrison

Great News!

We have some GREAT news. After much stress and trying tests we are announcing the coming arrival of our Little Girl. We had a scare with one of my protein levels during a quad screening that helps predict spina bifida and Down syndrome. My level was too high which could either mean our little one could have Down syndrome or the high level was due to my Crazy nausea. I am Happy to announce it was all my nausea's fault. We have been waiting to announce the coming arrival of our new little one because we wanted to make sure everything is okay. I am in my fifth month and she is due September 26, 2005. This should be a huge shock to some and a sigh of relief to others. Daddy Chad is really proud! Little Cole is looking forward to being a big Brother. When asked to kiss his baby sister he dutifully goes to the TV screen where the "recent" Ultra Sound is displayed and plants a big one on her. We will keep you updated with all the goings on and promise to have more Ultra sound pictures.