SEASON'S PASS!

So this is a rare "Brent" post so I hope you enjoy. Abigail, Colin, and I are very excited this summer because Aunt Mary got us all season's passes to Busch Gardens/Water Country. We only live about 15 minutes from both so its a great thing to do on weekends, or even for a date night! We had a great time even though we rode ZERO roller coasters. Yes, it is a sad fact, but when you have a 2 year old with you its reality. It's okay cause we went to my favorite spot to eat, DA FESTHAUS (I took liberations with the spelling!) The chicken dinner with German potato salad is amazing.... I get it every time.

Anyways, Colin had a great time too. His favorite part was riding the train. We rode the train...once, twice, three times... okay four! He loved to hear the train noises, steer the pretend wheel, and pump his fist in the air. His other favorite part was running around the small water park they had in his diaper. For some reason he's into squeeling right now, so here I am following after my son as he turns a corner, racing by moms squeeling at the top of his lungs. Little to say there was much laughter from oncoming parents.


So we want to give a big thanks to Mary as we will be enjoying Busch Gardens many more times this summer.... and of course riding the train. The day ended with us riding the shuttle back to our car. It was about 3:30 and it was mostly older people and families with kids. The conductor in the back says on his microphone, "did everyone have a great time today?" There is mostly silence, then he says a second later, "everyone must be tired and ready to be home." I'm sitting there thinking, yes thats a true statement. A sure sign i'm getting old!

Here is my FAVORITE picture of the day. We were sitting on the benches waiting for the train, when all of the sudden it comes around the corner. As you can see Abigail is much more excited than Colin to see the train! She was fixing her hair and it all became one big motion!

Little Gymnast

Yesterday Colin and I had our last gymnastics class. We both had a lot of fun going each week. Colin started to really love it and was very good at almost everything. His favorite is the balance beam (he loves to do the flamingo pose and also somersaults on it) but he LOVED it when they brought out the tunnels for them to play in. It was a lot of fun and here are a few pictures of Colin doing some of the stunts he learned.

proud moment

This morning Colin PEED ON THE POTTY! (can you tell I'm very excited about it) We haven't made too much of an issue of potty training as we are looking to move sometime this summer. But we did buy a potty chair and Colin has maybe sat on it about 10 times in the past few weeks for a second or so. I wasn't pushing it but he went this morning. He is so proud of himself. Its really cute. I gave him a piece of chocolate and told him if he poops he gets two pieces. So he ran back to the potty chair and tried to poop. This might be easier than I thought. But he hasn't wanted to go since. So we will see. But I'm very proud of him. Colin and Brent love to watch Emeril each night.

beach bum

busy week

Colin and I have had a busy week. On Sunday we went to va beach to look at homes (we did put an offer on one but didn't get the house) and then we went to a cookout for James and Angela as they are leaving for CA in a few weeks. Colin LOVED AJ's pool (as he calls it). He wasn't sure at first but then once the dogs went swimming in the pool he thought it wasn't so bad. As you can see he really loved it. We're going to have to check out our neighborhood pool now that its open full time.

Then on Tuesday Colin and I went with my grandma up to the farm. We got back last night. Colin is an outdoors kid and loved being outside. (which is why we need a decent yard for him to play around in). He picked raspberries and ate all of them so we couldn't bring any home. But we cut grass and worked in the garden. Colin also brought his lawnmower and cut grass along side of us. He started calling my grandma ooo-eeee (which i think we will encourage - haha its really cute - its a combination of Howard and Ethel but now its just for grandma) He loved playing with the trucks that used to be uncle jeff's and even got to see some trucks in person as our distant cousins are building a house on their farm down the road. Very exciting for Colin. Sarah came up for dinner one night so we had ooo-eee and ah ah (thats for aunt Sarah) just need a ting tang and a walla walla bing bang. haha! We love the farm and are going back for our long fourth of July weekend.

buying a house the second time....

The first time we bought a house we looked at it and fell in love with the house right away. We didn't really pay attention to the neighborhood or anything like that. And our house was nice... the neighborhood while safe needed some tlc. And also not one I could take colin for walks on as the streets were very narrow. This time around we are putting a lot more things into consideration. Which I guess is good but means that we still don't have a house. Brent and I have looked at I think 50 homes now in person and hundreds more online. Thank goodness for google maps because I can see the neighborhoods online and map out if we can go on bike rides or walks through the neighborhood - things like that. Colin makes things a little more difficult because we want a safe neighborhood for him to play in and also good schools in case where're still here in 3 years. It seems we can either get the house we really want with no yard or no privacy (you look into 6 other homes) or a nice yard but a smaller house than we want. We have passed up on two really nice homes. The first we almost put an offer and went back and walked the neighborhood but just didn't feel that was the house for us. The second house we put in a full price offer and asked them to pay half the closing costs and they didn't accept our offer and we didn't want to counter offer or want to accept their counter offer. The house was amazing but the yard tiny tiny. Both times the Lord has kept us from buying these homes and we dont regret it. We're just very tired of thinking about it and looking at homes. We know the Lord didn't make our house take a year to sell for us to get a house we're not in love with down here but we're getting tired of waiting. So hopefully we will find our house soon. I'm sure we're the pickiest buyers our agent is working with but he's very patient and is always ready to take us out.

A few days ago Colin and I were at the playground and he sat on the steps and wanted me to run through the playground and then go down the slide. I guess Momma makes a funny picture trying to slide down a slide meant for little kids. But I told him we had to go home in a few minutes and he told me "one more" while holding up 1 finger. I think I tell him that a lot because now he tells me "one more" if we are at the playground so he can go down the slide again, or "one more" cookie (his favorite), "one more" if he is throwing rocks in the river, "one more" drink or he uses it pretty much for everything. and he's so cute doing it I usually give in (except for the cookie part) and let him tell me one more a few times until we're done. I have to say "last one" now so he knows we're going home or doing something different. So anyways I said Ok and went down the slide one more time. Well, as I'm halfway down the slide I see him take off running in the opposite direction looking back at me and laughing all the way! And he's fast. He had it planned the whole time. I guess he figured it gave him a few more minutes at the playground. I caught up with him and he was still laughing at his "trick" the whole walk home.

Today we went on a walk to find trucks. Colin LOVES his trucks and gets so excited when he sees one in real life that we follow the garbage truck around every Thursday. We have to wait for him to come around and then we follow it around the block. But they are paving a road a few streets over and we have been going to check on the progress almost every day. Whatever they are doing it seems to take at least 20 trucks and at least 8 or 9 different types. We watched them for an hour today until Momma got hot :) Colin could've watched them all day. But there were some trucks parked on the side and Colin started yelling "man"... "Man"... "MAN!!!!" (louder each time) and tried to get the attention of the construction workers (which he calls man) and then very expressively pointed the the unused trucks. Most of the workers just waved back - not knowing what he was trying to get them to do. Which made Colin just try harder. It was really funny - a little embarrassing for me and frustrating for Colin since they didn't listen but toward the end one of the trucks were used so Colin was happy.

family vacation

We just got back from our first family vacation in years. The last time we all went on one I think mary was 4 or 5! We all met this past weekend for a long holiday weekend in the Shenandoah mountains. It was a beautiful weekend - the weather was perfect and sunny each day. The house we were staying at was very unique. It was called the historic round house and had so many stairs! I'll have to put a picture up later to show you. Colin loved all the stairs and was very independent on wanting to climb them himself. There was a stream near our cabin and once Colin discovered the joy of throwing boulder sized rocks into the stream he was out there every chance he could get. Colin loved all the attention and had so much fun each day. Mary taught him to burp on command and James taught him to make bodily function noises with his hands! Colin is so proud of himself but he does say excuse me after doing it - "eme me" He didn't nap for a few days and I was really worried especially the day we went on an all day hiking trip. He did wonderful. It amazing since when Brent and I take Colin for short little hikes at the park and he gets tired and wants out its hard to contain him in the pack and I was really worried he would want out when we're halfway to the waterfall or the peak -and then really what do you do with a screaming toddler when you're halfway up a mountain? But he was great. Brent and I went ahead and just got to the waterfall (Dark Hollow Falls) as fast as we could so he wouldn't get bored and the rest of the family met us down there. Colin loved putting his feet into the ice cold water and throwing rocks. I think we changed his clothes 3 times on that hike since he would get wet each time we stopped to play in the water on the way back up to the car. And then the family decided to do another short hike and Colin did that one too. (this all after only sleeping 6 hours the night before and getting a 20 minute nap in the car) That hike Colin walked up mostly by himself but did fall asleep in the pack on the way down. I was sure he wouldn't make it up but he did. He slept most of the way home Monday in the car and yesterday around 11 am he sat in his chair and fell asleep almost instantly and slept most of the afternoon.

We had a great time and are already looking forward to next years family vacation.... maybe this time we'll make matching tshirts.

Playing with water guns - Colin got really good towards the end

Throwing rocks with Grandpa Getting ready to hike Dark Hollow Falls

Telling Uncle Opie how to play putt-putt

Playing in the water on the hike The family
With aunt sarah at the top of the mountain

its finally over!

Well much to my surprise we actually closed on our house today! And in the words of Colin, YEA WOOO HOOOO! So now we can really get serious about looking for a home down here.

And one of the most ridiculous things we had to do so the couple buying our home could get their FHA loan was to take the garage doors off our garage so it could be turned into a car port! Which its still a garage but at least it passed their requirements. Makes me wonder on who gets paid to make these rules. I'm glad they bought our house and glad they could get a loan but wish they hadn't gotten and FHA loan. Good thing they don't do FHA loans down here. There was a whole long list of stuff like that which made no sense and made me pray that the couple wouldn't back out since we could have a hard time selling it to someone else after all the FHA requirements. But they didn't and its now their house and they are currently moving in and probably repainting our walls going "i can't believe they actually painted this room that color!" haha I'm so glad its over.

Tomorrow... tomorrow... I'll love you tomorrow....

Just a little update on our house. We still haven't closed. It keeps being pushed back. First it was Wednesday, then Friday, then this past Monday, then Tuesday and now Thursday at 11:00. So this is the first time we've had an actual time but I'm not holding my breath or banking on tomorrow. And every time it gets pushed back it seems like it costs us more money. So here's to hoping our house will close tomorrow.

Colin-isms

This weekend we made eee-aha's with a-ha-ha-ha (or cookies with chocolate) Colin is talking more and more and developing a big vocabulary but he also has come up with his own language for some things. And there are moments that are very frustrating for both of us since he tries to tell me something and I don't know what he was saying. But for the most part I can figure out his new language. He can say orange but eee-ah is cookie. Go figure. He has also started singing songs. Yesterday in the store he broke out with a pretty good version of head/shoulders/knees and toes. And his new favorite song is from book that plays Oh Little town of Bethlehem and he sings along. You can pick up the melody but not much else. But I'm sure by Christmas he'll be ready for caroling! But his secret language is really cute and here are some of my favorite Colin words.

eee-ah = cookies
a-ha-ha-ha = chocolate or sometimes candy
ba = stairs (if your upstairs it means he wants to go downstairs but if you're downstairs he wants to go back up stairs)
ba-ba = pacifier
heh-heh-heh = his blankie (not to be confused with the above chocolate)
eee-at or sometimes ah-eet = cereal (also not to be confused with cookies)
oh-woh-woah = peanut butter (this came from a song about peanut butter)

There are more but these are the ones I can remember at the moment. I'll post more as he says them throughout the day. Its become part of my language too now so they don't stand out as much since I know exactly what he is saying.

Happy Birthday Colin

Today my baby turns two (or dooo as Colin says) So hard to believe. Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with Aunt Mary (nana), Uncle Opie, Aunt Angela, Grandma, Grandpa, Rod, Debbie, AJ and Colin's mom and dad of course. We wrapped his presents while he was napping since some of them were big (a bike and a new lawnmower) and put them on the fireplace hearth since we didnt know where else to put them. Colin woke up, went downstairs, and I had forgotten about the presents by this time, but he squealed, jumped up and down and ran to open them. We told him he had to wait so he helped Brent make homemade spaghetti (Colin's favorite - pasta) It wasn't until I was in the dinning room putting up streamers, Brent was checking something on the computer and the family room was unguarded that Colin made his move. I heard paper ripping and Colin's YEA WOO HOOO that he does when he gets excited. He had opened one of his presents and it was so cute how excited he was that I grabbed the video camera to capture some of it. Colin had fun when everyone got here and ran around after AJ and entertained everyone. After dinner we opened presents only it was dark by this time and the poor boy was so excited about his bike and lawnmower that he got really upset when we wouldn't let him go outside to use them. He even opened up some rubber ducks and ran to the door to go put outside in his water table and was denied that one too! poor boy. AND then he opened up a soccer ball and was so excited he threw it - only for us to find out it was a ceramic bank. Super cute but not what Colin expected. But today he has been using all his toys and has had a great time.

But its amazing how fast two years can go. It seems like just yesterday he was born. Colin is such a blessing to us and brings us so much Joy. We have no idea what the future holds and know that in what will seem like a blink of an eye he will be all grown up. So for now we are trying to enjoy every day and every moment.

strawberry picking

Saturday we took Colin strawberry picking with his Aunt Angela and Uncle Opie (or as Colin call his Peee-ta-peee) It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed getting to know a little more of va beach and where we might potentially live. Angela showed us neighborhoods that are good to live in and James took us around to some houses that were for sell near their house. Too bad they are moving to CA probably when we move to the beach! But it was a great day and perfect for strawberry picking. Colin got out of the car, ran to the strawberries, picked a few and then told me he wanted to go "home - AJ" (back to James and Angela's house to play with their dog AJ - and also Angela's dad was getting the pool ready and had some great tools. Colin was all about helping) But the rest of us weren't ready yet and Colin eventually made it back to the patch for some more strawberries. He was more excited about the old rust lawnmower we passed walking back from the berry patch. Brent had to take his time and pick only perfect ones and while it took a while I must say it was worth it.Nothing compares to fresh strawberries.

it gets worse

It gets worse.... Carol went over to our house to shut off the breaker so they could turn the electricity back on and since the electricity was turned off the sump pump didn't work so there is now 2 inches of water in the corner of our basement. Our basement has NEVER flooded - well it did once from sewer backed up from the street because tree roots had grown through the pipes - gross but the city came and fixed that for us. I was pregnant and didn't have a bathroom for a few days. Very interesting and another story for another blog. But then there are some tresses (I guess you could call them that) on the exterior of our home that need to be painted before they pass inspection. This house was built in 1924 and these are mainly decorative tresses and we've always wanted to paint them but never had a ladder big enough and since there are only 2 in the back of the house we never bothered. But some company is coming out tomorrow to paint them and we're not sure who pays for that one. Its just paint - why should that matter for the loan to go through? And why wasn't all this brought up a month ago???? I'm almost afraid to answer the phone anymore. And why did all this have to wait until AFTER the supposed closing date. We're just praying nothing else goes wrong.

Today we were supposed to close on our house. But note I said supposed. We had moved out, filled out our end of the paper work, everything was set and seemed to be in order and then we got a call from Carol yesterday. She said that the closing wouldn't happen today since the couple buying our house had applied for an FHA loan and for some reason those loans can't be processed as fast and that we had to wait. Which someone should've noticed that before. If FHA loans take so long then you shouldn't try to close in 30 days like they wanted. It was fine for us - the sooner the better but apparently they were a little hasty. So today I got a call from Carol saying that we had to get all our utilities turned back on (we had turned them off since we were supposed to close today) for the loan company to test all the appliances and make sure the electrical work we had done was done right. The appliances had to be checked during the home inspection but I guess the loan company or whoever is holding up this closing wants to make sure it all worked. So they are worrying about giving thousands of dollars in a loan for a$50 microwave! It doesn't make sense. Especially since the electrical work had to be done by a certified electrician and we had to send them a copy of the bill and name and phone number of the company who completed the repairs. So I am now on hold with the power company (and the kind operator just said there are 52 people ahead of me) so they can get in and check all these things so the couple can get their loan and we can close. OH and guess who gets to pay all the start up fees for them to do this! thats right us. All for one day of being turned on. AHHHHH so frustrating. You would think someone would've noticed all this BEFORE today. So hopefully it all gets straighed out soon. And a side note - we LOVE Carol. We met with a Realtor this weekend and while she was nice we really love Carol and wish she could come down here and help us find a house.

how fast they grow

I took some of these pictures today and realized they were a lot like some pictures I took almost exactly a year ago. He really is so cute in his overalls! Colin still loves plants and watering his flowers! Some things never change... only our little baby is no longer a baby and is a little boy!


A year ago (Colin was almost 1)




These pictures were taken this morning