October

October has already been a busy month. Last week we celebrated
Forrest's birthday with Dad, Cheryl, Brian, Ashley and Naomi. It was a success, though I think Coleman got more presents than Forrest! He got 5 new trains and new track. He'll wake up and say "Wanna play choo-choo's with me Mama? After you get your coffee. Wanna say O.K.?" We went out to eat and Coleman got the grilled cheese. When it came out he said "Oooo!" and started wiggling in his seat with excitement.

Jared got Naomi not only to smile, but to laugh as well. Not me. She almost started to cry with me. I take care of babies 3 mornings a week, I should know how to do this! Oh well. I'm sure she and I will bond eventually. :)

Coleman thought the cake was for him, so he helped Forrest blow out the candles...sort of. He only knows how to stick out his bottom lip and blow air up, so he blows his hair up.


















Yesterday we went hiking with friends that Jared knows through work, Andrew, Tara and their twin boys, Logan and Will. The boys are 9 months old and very cute, as you can see in the pictures. It was great to get a backpack on again and tramp through the woods. It makes me miss my hiking days a lot! Eliza loves the backpack. When I lift her up onto my shoulders she just grins as being up so high. Coleman loved being on Jared's shoulders, and then later Andrew's shoulders. At one point we paused at huge rocks that you could crawl under. Coleman asked Andrew to hold his hand so he could go under to explore.




Today after naps we went to Park Place downtown, a housing development that our church is ministering to. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors. Coleman loved the big slide. He went down all by himself as long as Jared was on the other side to meet him. The kids loved playing with Coleman. One girl was having fun tickling and wrestling with him, and Coleman loved it too. On our drive home Coleman asked if I would play choo-choo's with him, and Daddy too. I said that someone had to feed Eliza. So he said Daddy should and Mommy will play with him. Then he said "Coleman loves mommy, and Eliza loves Daddy." He has some very definite ideas about the world.
















Since school has started for me days have been really busy, thus less free time to blog. I'm starting to think about next steps for me to take towards a career. I'm asking around, and praying for the right timing and opportunities to arise. School has been tough for Coleman because he and I get less time to play trains together. That leads to more behavior problems. At school he's had to be in time-out for biting, spitting and not listening.

Jared is doing a lot of great work in Woodlawn, along with the guys he works alongside of. They are trying to revitalize the area. I get really excited about for Jared when he tells me all the things he's working on. I love his new office too, AND you can watch trains going by from the window. Its meant to be!

Family Visit

We had a visit from Jared's Dad recently, known as 'Grandaddy' to Coleman. He brought some great books for Coleman one of which is a puzzle book that he loves. Who doesn't love books?

Then we had Sue, Forrest, Brian, Ashley and baby Naomi visit. Coleman loves to kiss his sister and cousin. Eliza's new talent is shown above in the video.

Coleman's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. He cracks me up with things he'll say. This morning he said that Sadie will grow bigger and bigger and then she'll say "Excuse me" when she farts. I love hearing his perception of the world.

Happy Birthday Christen

Happy Birthday to my sister Christen. Coleman an d I decided to sing to you so you can imagine we are there with you. Now you can blow out the candles on your cake! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

Learning How To Be a Big Brother

Coleman is learning what it means to be a big brother and how very important that role is. He loves to pat and kiss Eliza's head, take a bath with her, show her his trains and share them with her, and of course sing to her. He also likes to boss her around "don't bite that Eliza". Or boss me around "Baby's frying (crying) Mama."

Coleman has a list of words that he chooses to say his way even though he can say them the correct way:

Frain = train
fruck = truck
canana = banana
flease = please
forn = corn
Casiah = Josiah
finkle = Twinkle
wittle = little
fry = cry
Fwatamala = Guatamala

I find myself saying them his way to him because they are so cute. Jared told me I need to stop so he doesn't keep saying them incorrectly.

Happy Eliza

I'm



Eliza is starting to really laugh these days. She loves it when I say silly things and make silly faces as I pop out from hiding. She's also discovered her feet and that they are fun to put into her mouth. She is sleeping 11-12 hours at night now! Hurray! She is also taking really good naps. I moved her into her own room recently and it is great to have our room back to ourselves. I think she really likes her big crib too. She will often be on the other end and laying in the opposite direction that I laid her down in. As you can see in these pictures she is a very happy girl.

Coleman is loving using the potty these days. I am able to take him for a walk wearing his underwear and he will stay dry the whole time. Today we had to run home for him to use the potty. We got home just in time! Coleman is learning how to interact with Eliza in a gentler, more helpful way. He's starting to say things, and state observations that crack me up. For example, "Coleman will push his ear in and then Coleman will be a handsome boy", or "Coleman is a tough guy" as he pushes the stroller up a steep hill. In church nursery I'm told he is a great helper and pat-pats all the babies.

Jared and I have been busy painting our kitchen. We still have a long way to go, but it already looks so much better.

Playing is hard work

Coleman is still very excited about trains. We went to the Train Museum on Saturday with Jared's Dad and his girlfriend Cheryl. Coleman had so much fun! He was so overwhelmed with all the trains, and a train table to play with in the gift shop. Cheryl bought him a new train, Duck, from the Thomas series. That sent him over the moon with excitement. When he plays trains he narrates all that he is doing. He usually will give me a train to play with, and Daddy and baby. He's very generous with sharing. Coleman's potty training is going so well I think we may be saying good-bye to diapers soon.

Eliza is starting to 'talk' more in her own way. She is sleeping better at night now too. Hurray!

I'm busy painting our kitchen white. It looks so much better already than the salmon pink it was before. I can get a lot done in just 2 hours without the kids around!

July Update

Facebook has dominated most of my time lately, but I'm back on blogger!

We have officially lived in Birmingham over a year now. I love it here. The summers are not that hot after all. We've been having many days with weather in the high 80's, low 90's...in other words perfect for me. I'll start "teaching" three mornings a week in September at the Parents Day Out program at the Methodist Church near us. I'll have the 0-1 year old class with Eliza in it and Coleman's class is next door to my room.

I have decided to rediscover my pre-pregnancy figure with the help of Jillian Michaels from "The Biggest Loser". I work-out 20 minutes a day and she kicks my butt, but I feel great for the rest of the day. I have so much energy in fact that I often don't need a nap, and feel up to painting the kitchen at night. Thanks Jillian, ha, ha.

Coleman has been growing up over the last few months, and it has been painful at times. He is very jealous of Eliza and when Jared gets home he'll make it very clear that he doesn't want Daddy around: 'No Daddy, just Mama and Coleman'. He'll often say very loudly to Jared "NO, Mama do it!!" Jared often has to put him in time-out for being so rude. He's learning. He is learning how to be gentle with Eliza and loves to help with her bath, loves to give her kisses, and make her laugh. Sometimes he'll just start singing a song to her with his face inches from her face. It is so funny.

Tonight I was making dinner and cleaning up and Coleman entertained himself happily for an hour. He decided that he wanted to wash dishes, one of his favorite things to do. So he pushed the chair up to the sink as I was leaving the kitchen to take care of Eliza. I was with Eliza for about 5 minutes and I came out and found Coleman amidst a ton of bubbles. He loves to clean!



Lastly, our little Eliza bug is growing up! She is no longer content to just lay on a mat and look at a picture. She wants to be grabbing things and pulling them into her mouth. She is also interested in eating. One day I was eating a sandwich and saw her looking at my mouth so longingly as if she wanted to try eating too. So we've started giving her rice cereal and she loves it! She is starting to sleep better at night with 1 or 2 feedings on a good night. Hurray! She almost always wakes up happy and starts talking and cooing. When she sees me looking in at her she'll grin so happily. I love seeing her personality starting to come out now.



Oh yeah, for those of you (Elizabeth) interested in the update on Tikka, our cat, here it is: She is growing up too. She is now an outdoor cat and no longer sits on Jared's head at night. What a good girl. :P