Our Spontaneous Roanoke Trip

Last Sunday evening Jared and I were discussing the level of stress in our lives lately, and I was desiring to take a vacation to visit my cousins in Roanoke, since it would be a low-cost vacation, and we'd have time with much-missed family. It was my spring break this past week, so we decided, if Julie and Mark were up for company last minute, we were up for traveling last minute. Sure enough, they were. So, at 3:15 p.m. Monday we left Birmingham and arrived in Roanoke at midnight.

Here is Coleman passing the time by making silly faces. He was so excited about our spontaneous adventure that he was unable to sleep. Finally at 10:30 he fell asleep. The
next day we all needing long naps to recover. Elise, Coleman and Evan all
loved playing trains together. After naps we went with Elise to her swim lesson and Coleman got to play in the shallow end of the pool. I tried to take him into the hot tub but was reprimanded for that. Oooops!





















The day ended with a fun bath for all the kids except baby Kiersten.
Evan is a very shy boy, and was a little sick that week, so it took
some convincing before he got in the bath. Elise loves the water and
is almost able to swim by herself. She loves to wear her swim goggles in the pool and in the bath.

One day we went to the local zoo which sits on top of a small mountain with hiking trails. The zoo was lots of fun, and Shauna met us there with her kids. Later Eliza and I went back to hike...I miss hiking on the Trail soooo much. I get what hiking I can in when I can. When I got back to the house Uncle Paul and Aunt Laurel were there visiting for dinner. Eliza took to Uncle Paul right away, which says a lot since usually no one will do except Mama for her. As you can see we had perfect weather for the week!













Our last day we all (Julie and her kids, me, Jared and our kids, and Shauna and her kids!) went to the Transportation Museum to see all the trains. Coleman was content to watch the model train go around and around. It was a huge model train set of Roanoke which was very impressive. That evening we had a cook-out at Adam and Shauna's. I walked the short mile over with Elise, Coleman and Eliza. Then Julie and I walked it back with our two quiet kids: Coleman and Kiersten , so we could chat :)





















Our last morning there we were surprised with a birthday ice-cream cake for Eliza's birthday. She didn't quite know what to make of it at first, but slowly started to get her fingers in the icing and then her fingers into her mouth. She was very cautious, especially since all eyes were on her. On our last morning there we finally got Evan smiling at us, hurray!

We got on the road by 10:30 and made a nice stop-over in Knoxville visiting some Boston friends, Christy and Wyatt and their sweet dog Skylar, newly transplanted to the South. Some next-door neighbor kids were playing in the water fountain and Coleman decided he'd like to get in too, so he took off his pants and merely splashed in some of the puddles. That's a lot for cautious Coleman to try. One little boy was soaking wet and shaking and told me "You do NOT want to get in that fountain because it is cold!" I told him maybe he could go home and get dry clothes on because I bet his Mom would be worried. He said "No, my Mom doesn't worry about me." It made me so sad.











We are finally recovered from the trip, and feeling refreshed. We were blessed in every possible way. It was a great trip that will continue to bless me for many months.

Coleman's 3rd Birthday Party

As you can see, Coleman's birthday party was a success! Every time the doorbell rang and another friend of Coleman's showed up he'd get so excited. Not to mention the presents they would bring for him. It was so much excitement for one day. We got to borrow the blow up fire truck from a friend for the kids to play in. The train table was of course a hit. Coleman was given tons and tons of great presents. One of his favorites is his Thomas tent that he likes to get in with his blankies and books and trains and get "nice and cozy". Another favorite is his bag of simple blocks. He loves building houses with it, and Eliza's loves knocking them over. And another favorite is his Bugsby books that are helping him to read. He is starting to spell words out now and will say "I want to spell 'car'". Once I asked him to clean up and he looked at me and said "N-O spells 'No!'' I guess his spelling comes in handy for talking back now too.

Thanks everyone for coming and celebrating with us. I have yet to send out Thank-you notes...sorry! They will be coming this week, just before Eliza's birthday party.

Christmas with the Kokotiuk's

My parents came down, actually drove down 20 hours from Connecticut, to celebrate Christmas with us this year. It was a really great 4 days. Here are the pictures, long, long overdue, but finally posted :) Both Eliza and Coleman got a piano to play. Eliza loves her Alligator chimes and plays them all the time for me. She's also starting to dance when she's standing up and a I play some fun music for her. We all got to go swimming once in the pool at Mom and Dad's hotel. Poor Eliza was a bit overwhelmed by the cold, the water, the new place and was clinging to my neck. Turns out the poor baby had an ear infection. But Coleman loved playing in the water. Eliza bonded with her Grandpa this week. My Mom, Coleman and I would go off to do something fun and leave Eliza to nap with my Dad. He'd read to her, and pat her until her little eyelids would close. He took the picture of her on the bed with the books around her. Coleman loved his time with both Grandma and Grandpa playing with his new Christmas gifts and his trains. He'll say to me once in a while "Maybe Grandma and Grandpa can come visit us and that will be fun."

Yesterday Coleman and I were looking out the living room window and saw a little fly on the outside. He started to tell me about the fly trying to catch Coleman when he went outside but it couldn't because the fly would trip, but the fly wouldn't cry because bees don't cry. (Bees and flies are the same thing to Coleman right now). He then went on to say that Daddy doesn't cry either because he's a man.

Holly Jolly Christmas

As you can see we have had a very busy Christmas this year! Our first Christmas was with Dad and Cheryl here at our house. Coleman received more trains and tracks as well as his favorite movie Polar Express. We then drove down to Sue's to celebrate with her a couple days later. Eliza and Naomi bonded while trying to play with the same toy. Poor Coleman had a fever the whole day so was in my lap watching his new Cars movie most of the day. On Christmas day we had our own celebration, and finally tomorrow we will celebrate with my parents who are here for a few days. Four Christmases!! After we opened all our gifts Christmas morning Coleman went and laid down in his bed he was so worn out and it was only 8:30 in the morning, ha, ha!

Eliza is working so hard at crawling, but she prefers to stand at a table and play instead. I think she may get her first tooth before the new year. I'm hoping there are teeth in there. She loves her brother and Daddy. Coleman makes her laugh a lot, especially while she eats. When Jared gets home from work she is all smiles for him. She discovered that she does not like banana. When I feed it to her she'll stick out her tongue so the banana will fall off. She doesn't cry, she just refuses it. She also loves to clap her hands now.

Coleman is enjoying his time off from school not having to rush anywhere. The first day after our busy school week he spent all morning in his pajamas. He spent almost an hour under my chair with a blanket over the chair like a tent, looking at books. I guess everyone needs to unwind, even a 2 year old. He is always asking me to play with him, and at the end of the day sometimes he'll tell me "But, I need more "mommy-time"'. Just like I need more Mommy-guilt. He'll also ask if we can leave Eliza home so he and I can go out together without her, ha, ha.

For the holidays I took him to see the lights at the Zoo one evening. The zoo is decorated with tons of Christmas lights and is open after dark every weekend. It is very magical. We also got to ride the zoo train with Katie and Josiah, a very special treat for Coleman. The next day Coleman and I went to see Polar Express at the IMAX theater. He was so cute to watch because he was so intent on the movie. That's a pretty amazing first movie to see in a theater.

I'm hoping for a new job in the new year. I am hoping I can work part-time and that God will provide Jared with more work. Architects are not finding much work these days. However, we are doing well in spite of it. We both have peace and faith that it will all be fine.

Thanksgiving, etc

Coleman and Eliza are starting to play together more and more as you can see in the
above picture. It can get frustrating when Coleman keeps taking her toys/paci, and she keeps taking his toys/paci. For the most part though, they really enjoy each others' company. He will crack her up by running around the dinner table and saying 'hello' to her each time he passes by. He also keeps her happy in her car seat while we're driving by laughing or singing to her.

Coleman and I helped Jared clean up our yard by raking huge leaf piles that Coleman could lay down in as his 'bed'. Notice his Indian hat that he made at school. I get such a kick out of him when he willingly wears silly things like that. He and I had a fun afternoon while Eliza slept.

I've noticed that Coleman picks up things I say and incorporates them into his vocabulary. One morning I was feeding Eliza and got out two spoons so she could hold one while I used the other one. Coleman observed this and said "That's so sweet Mama to get a spoon for Eliza." Ha, ha! I guess I say "That's so sweet" a lot. Recently he's begun saying "Mmm-hmmm" for 'yes.' He sounds so grown-up. Another thing he'll say is "Holy Moly that is huge!" because I said that when we were eating huge grapes. Now he'll say about it anything huge he sees. He will tell Jared he's a "different daddy" after Jared cuts his hair, or shaves, because he looks so different.

Sadie-boo got a bath a week ago and she looks and feels like a new dog. As you can see here, she is completely humiliated by the bath. Poor girl. I just had to take a picture though.








Thanksgiving was a whirlwind tour of family, but we managed to see the entire family! On Thursday we stayed at Dad and Cheryl's, where Grandad and Marcy came by in the afternoon to visit with everyone. Coleman's new friend is Cheryl. He followed her everywhere and wanted her to feed him, bathe him, play trains with him. It was very sweet. Then Friday we drove up to Sue's to visit with Grammie and Grandma. We were supposed to shoot some skeet but everyone was exhausted and Eliza and I got sick, so hopefully it will be postponed for a better day.







Sunday night Coleman 'sang' Jingle Bells at a church service where they decorate the church in preparation for Christmas. He really only rang his bell as did the rest of his class instead of sing. Next to him is Walton (in plaid), and CC, his favorite girl friend. For a while he was saying CC was in his heart.

The one thing I hear more out of Coleman's mouth these days is "Mama/Daddy/Grammie/______ will you play choo-choo's with me?" How can I resist? It is my goal to get down on the floor and play with him for 20-30 minutes every day and get into his world. It is lots of fun, once I do it!

We are going to get our tree on Saturday. Coleman is very excited about Christmas this year, which gets me very excited! :)