"I want to go to Colorado"

(I typed this up months ago, never got around to publishing it.)
October 2014

I've heard Sawyer repeat, "I want to go to Colorado" at least 10 times a day since we got back from our great fall vacation to Colorado. I would have to agree with him. The weather was perfect, both sets of his grandparents were there, as well as cousins, aunts, and uncles. There was dirt to play in, tractors to ride, apples to be picked, rocks to be thrown, and havoc to be wrecked. A little boys dream!

Colorado is one of my favorite states. The sunshiney days and beautiful mountains are a big draw for me. My parents have lived in Palisade a little over a year now (but I grew up in CO until I was 13). Their property is right next to a peach orchard and the Book Cliffs are on the north side of them and the Grand Mesa to the East. They have a great piece of property which they have lovingly named The Last Resort, haha! Mac and Steph live about 15 minutes away in Grand Junction. It was so fun to get to see happy Saya Sol...she's changed so much since we'd met her in January as a newborn!

My dad loves to garden, and does a great job at it as well. (One of those things I wish was hereditary.) There was tomato, basil, peppers, and carrots coming out of their ears. The boys enjoyed going out to the garden each morning with grandpa to dig up carrots. It's funny I'd forgotten how tough the soil can be! We don't even have to 'dig' up carrots here in Florida, as they easily slide out of the sandy soil with the tug of your hand.

5 a.m. pit stop on the way to the airport. It's only a 30 minute drive, but when you gotta go, you gotta go! That little potty is so handy to have in the back of Rocket Ship (our Odyssey).

Papa and Thing 1 & 2 - I had the easy one on my lap, sitting in front of them.

What, you don't let your kids play with plastic bags?

Whew, we made it! Grandpa meeting baby Cole and Grandma getting a smile out of him, no doubt.

The beautiful view during breakfast. They'd done some remodeling since we visited last which completely transformed their home. It is so much more open and light now, with great views!

A peek at part of the garden. Peppers, Basil, and Tomatoes shown in this shot.

Traxtor (Saw's pronunciation) rides!

Grandpa hired the boys to drag a magnet around the field. He gave them a penny per nail (or metal object). Jack lost interest quickly (he made 5 cents). Sawyer worked diligently a few different times and came home with $4.08. That's a LOT of findings!

Counting out all the metal pieces...putting them in piles of 10.

Pay Day! Grandpa taught Sawyer a lot with this 'job'. Hard work, counting in tens, coinage, and tithing, whew!

Dave, the baby whisperer. It was so cute, when Cole met David for the first time, he loved his deep voice and gave him all sorts of smiles :)

Uncle Mac!

Saya Baby!

Saya (7.5 months) Cole (1.5 months)

Baba and Cole Baby! 

We were so happy that Baba and Dido (George's parents) decided to fly to CO and spend some time with us. Thank you!

 

Cousin time! Kaden was a great sport, putting up with his cousins :)

My little thug. The ergo knocks him out every time. I still haven't figured out how to transfer him from the ergo to his bed without waking him up though.

Out for an excursion.

Just because he's adorable!

Kite flying with no wind...

Pumpkin Painting

Love that back drop during our cookout.

Art time

Cole giving a quick wink with Baba ;)

Child labor, does a kid good.

George and Sawyer throwing rocks into the Colorado River.

Cole and Saya saying their good-byes.

Pit stop on our 5 hour drive to the Denver airport.

Travelling (5 hour drive and 4 hour flight) with three boys three and under actually went really well. Here they are all passed out after a week of fun in Colorado...thankfully most of the drive to the airport was like this :)

Thank you so much Grandma & Grandpa for being such wonderful hosts. We love creating such wonderful memories with you!

Jack 3-years-old

Jack 3-year-old Interview

(Done 1.5 month late...oops!)

What is your full name? Three, Eliason Bates! Haha Jack!
Where do you live? I live in this house. In Las Vegas.
How old are you? 3
When is your birthday? At April 2nd
What do you want to be when you grow up? Maybe a teenager.
Who is in your family? Mom, Cole Baby, Papa, Sawyer
What do you like to eat? Macaroni. Maybe cereal.
What do you like to do outside? Play soccer. I want to play kites out there.
What do you like to do inside? Play with you and Chelsea. I like to do, do, do!
FAVORITE:
Color: Blue
Song: Chuggington! And Working on the Railroad, Pass My Time Away!
Toy: Uhhh my special ball.
Food: Uhhh I already told you. It's spaghetti and cereal.
Cereal: Mini-wheats.
Show: Go Diego!
Animal: Sheeps
Book: It's like the Honeybees (The Big Honey Hunt -Berenstein Bears)
Dessert: Strawberries and ice cream. And raspberries and blackberries.
Favorite thing to do with Papa: Uh ride in the truck!
Favorite thing to do with Mommy: Ride in the van with you.
Favorite thing to do with Sawyer: Play tennis ball.
Favorite thing to do with Cole: Play with him. Like what? Like with toys.
What do you want for Christmas? Uh maybe light up candles.
Where does Papa work? Um maybe in his work. Where? It's in the trees. You can drive in the trees and to the left and to the left and go through trees and there is Papa's work. (Hahaha there are trees on the road right before you get to George's airport.)
What does Papa do for work? He flies helicopters.
What does Mommy do for work? Uh I don't know. I don't know what mom does for work. Maybe make cereal for us?
Who do you love? Mom! And Papa! Anyone else? Chelsea and Brandon! And our neighbors. What about your brothers? What brothers mom? Oh, Sawyer and Cole Baby!
Anything else you'd like to say? Maybe push the 'J'. Now can I maybe push '3'. (I was interviewing him and taking notes on my phone - very distracting!)

This boy makes me laugh all the time. He's so sweet and loves to snuggle. Abbie came up with a great term to describe him...'ding-a-ling'. He is in his own world a lot of the time. But right when you think he's not listening or paying attention, he'll bust out with some great bit of knowledge. He's been my 'finder'. If I can't find something (which seems to be a lot lately, moving will do that to you!) I'll ask him and he'll usually know. He doesn't do this anymore, but a few months ago when I'd tuck him in bed I'd say, "I love you Jack." And he'd reply with, "I love your hair, Mom." Ha! He loves snuggling me and stroking my hair and rubbing it on his face. Touch is definitely his love language.

Life was a whirlwind from February through April with a cross country move and living out of suitcases for a couple months. I'm blogging, so that must mean things are settling down! We celebrated a low-key birthday for Jack at Grandpa & Grandma's house in Colorado (where we were staying at the time. George and I made it back in time for his birthday after driving all night from Vegas and getting there the morning-of. It just so happened to work out to be George's day off and we'd signed on a house that afternoon so things were finally falling into place.

Jack loving on his squishy baby brother.

 Cookies and ice cream as requested. He's never been much of a cake lover.

This kid loves to accessorize. Too bad he left his new sunglasses at the park less than a week later!

Baba & Dido nailed it - his favorite is Dusty the Crophopper, thank you!

A popular birthday present!

Jack piloting the maiden flight.

Of course all the adults had to try too. I dare say, Grandpa & Grandma were the best pilots!

Uncle Chris teaching Cole how to blink for pictures :)

It was a rough few months only getting to be with Papa a few days here and there. The boys loved every minute they did get to see him though. It's wonderful to be back together as a family now!

Jack and his Papa - so handsome!

Happy Birthday little man, we love you!!

Gingersnaps

http://www.chef-in-training.com/2014/11/gingersnaps/

I like my ginger snaps soft and chewy. This is the perfect recipe. 

They crackled so perfectly I ate a dozen. 

Sawyer snuck a cookie and ate it hiding in a kitchen cupboard. He did it while I was out watering the garden and then he came and told me. I told him to help himself to another haha. This was the batch I baked too long yesterday and they were hard, but they're actually softer today. Maybe humidity is good for something after all?

Cole 2 months

(I better hurry and post this before he's 3-months old in a couple days!)

Cole always has lots of smiles for me every morning. It's a great way to start the day, even if I don't get a lot of shut eye these days (mostly because of Jack, not Cole!) He'll usually eat two times a night still. He's a content baby boy and very patient with his parents and brothers. He takes a pacifier some of the time. He's not a fan of tummy time. If I want him to stay asleep longer he needs to be swaddled. He doesn't like to bend in half (like sitting in an L position) and will push back against you to straighten out. I love having this baby boy to rock and snuggle. He's not a little baby anymore (was he ever??)...

2-month Stats:

16 lbs. 9 oz. - 100%

25.5" tall - 99%

41 cm head circ - 73%

And some pictures, because that's what everyone really wants to see anyway!

That cute face!

Testing out his exersaucer for the first time. It was a little overwhelming with all the help from his big brothers.

Love those smiles :)

Sawyer and Jack love to keep him company.

Hahaha!

Ewwww he licked my nose!

October weather in FL is transitioning out of the rainy season, but every day that week on our walks we got caught in a rain storm. I love the ergobaby carrier because it's so comfortable and kept Cole dry.

Cole's first time swimming! He wasn't a fan, and lasted 5 mins. The second time he went was much better and he fell asleep in the pool.

The Bates Boys!

He likes his tongue.

The smile of relief...that is poo coming up around both sides of his onesie. Good thing he was on a blanket for easy clean up!

I love having a sleeping baby in my bed. Our little gushy bear.

Aunt Abbie and Uncle Christ sent us a package, thank you! Cole was a happy and willing model of the crocheted frisbee. He loves the helicopter mobile too...he lays beneath it and kick, kick, kicks. Thank you for taking the time to send us a package in the midst of moving!

Oh so cute.

Sawyer singing to his baby brother. These two get along very well :)

Smiles!

The big brothers keeping Cole company on the floor. I had them line up so we could compare heights. Cole almost has them!

Cole's fan club :) I'm so happy his brothers love him so much!

Poison Control

We had an exciting afternoon around here yesterday. I was inside nursing Cole while the big brothers played in our fenced-in backyard. They were being particularly quiet, so I offered a prayer somewhat along the lines of 'please protect the boys'. After I finished, I went outside to find Sawyer hopping off the chicken coop roof, saying, "We ate these berries mom!" Ohhhhh really?! I took a picture of the plant and sent it off to George and my mom so I could get help identifying it as quickly as possible. Meanwhile I tried to look it up as well while burping Cole and keeping an eye on Sawyer and Jack for any symptoms. Sawyer told me they each ate five berries and that they were 'good and sweet, not too sour!' Glad you enjoyed them, ha!

It was taking a while to identify exactly what the plant was, so I decided to make them throw up just in case. I didn't have ipecac on hand, so I traumatized them both by sticking my fingers in the back of their throats. It turns out Jack has an iron gag reflex. I could barely get a cough out of him! Sawyer on the other hand was crying and gagging and rather upset about the intrusion. Hopefully it was memorable enough to drive home the lesson to not forage without the help of a knowledgeable adult. 

Turns out there were two different vines intertwined. Virginia Creeper and Corky Stemmed Passion Flower. Thankfully neither of them are poisonous, although the Creeper contains oxalates that can cause minor cuts in their throats. The poison control center recommended they eat popsicles to help with that. 

So grateful for everyone's help (Mom, George, Extension Center, and Poison Control Center)! I'm also thankful for answered prayers - very important lesson learned without major consequences for their innocent foraging. 

Oh yes and even with all this excitement we managed to go vote too :)