What is Nolan Doing, You Ask?

Apparently, he's getting a foot massage from his big sister.

I'm amazed at how much Nolan is learning and doing. I'm so worried I will forget the little cute and funny things. I tired to document well with Bailey, but I have forgotten so many of the things that I just knew I'd remember forever. So, while some of these things seems trivial, I'm trying to remember that, in 10 years, I will never look back on this and wonder why the heck I wrote something down. I will only be filled with joy at discovering something that I had long since forgotten.

First, while most people probably can't understand the majority of what he says, Nolan really can say a lot of things. He can repeat most anything and really works hard to communicate with us, even when it's frustrating for him (or for us). I would say he regularly uses 20 words and can repeat another 20 or so. He has a handful of 2-word phrases, including love you, my turn, want drink, bad boy, want plate, that's mine, get down, went poo poo and brush teeth.

He is definitely in the "that's mine" stage. EVERYTHING is his and he gets really agitated if he doesn't get his way. We've seen a few little tantrums and, for whatever reason, he's actually started hitting himself (not hard) when he gets really worked up over something he wants and can't have. Right after he does it, he'll get that mischeivious look in his eye and kind of smirk like he knows that wasn't a good solution to his problems. Usually he'll come hug me next. He's also learning how to get his way. When he wants something from Bailey, he'll first get upset and try to pull it away from her. When I say, "ask nicely," he'll change his tune really fast, put his hands out and innocently say, "peeese." It's funny when she refuses, he switches back to aggressive mode really quickly....clearly the nice act was just that, an act.

He has taken to holding my hand and walking me to my car in the mornings. I think it helps him to not be so upset when I leave. Sometimes he tries to carry my purse and is so proud of himself for helping. This morning he worked really hard to put my computer in its case. Sooo cute!

His eating is still pretty sporadic but I think he could enter and win any oatmeal, yogurt or pancake eating contests. The kid eats 2 whole oatmeal packets each morning and sometimes 2 yogurts each day. And, when we make pancakes, he eats as much as I do.

He really doesn't like the heat. He says, "hot" and acts miserable when and if we go play outside in the heat of the day. Bailey and I got in her blow-up pool on Saturday and he wouldn't get in. Instead, he went and sat in the shade by the back door until I felt bad for him and took him inside. Now, he DOES like to swim, but he prefers night swimming.

We are in the beginning stages of weaning him off the pacifier. My goal is to have it gone by his 2nd birthday. Right now, we're limiting use to bed and nap time. This did not go over well the first couple of days, but he's asking for it less and less during the day. The worst time is in the morning when I have to take it away. He usually flips out right at first until he's distracted by his oatmeal. However, I did notice that he left it in bed this morning when I asked him too.....I think we're well on our way.

I'll post Bailey kindergarten and bday pics soon! See ya!

Pray for Kate McRae

This is what a mom's broken heart looks like....

Today Kate was supposed to start kindergarten. Such a new chapter for her brother and sister, and an unexpected chapter for Kate. Today it has been 6 weeks since we came in for her initial CT scan. 6 weeks ago, our pediatrician told us to come to this place as she wanted to rule out a mass because of slight tremors in her right hand. I decided to go then, one less thing to think about or worry about that night. We left lights on, food on the counter, dirty clothes on the floor. I left quickly, with only my keys and Kate's kindergarten application in my hand. Kate and I have not returned since. How quickly things change. Entering the hospital armed only with Kate's application, we will return home briefly with a central line catheter, a wheelchair, leg brace, hand splint, a balding head and broken hearts. Only to know we won't be starting kindergarten this fall. The most unsettling thing is that the moment our lives changed was only because the tumor was made known to us. They think probably Kate had the tumor cells since she was born. It could have been growing slowly all this time, and then something may have caused it to become aggressive. It is so weird to think that for the past 5 years it has been lurking, with us never knowing.

(portion omitted)

Many mothers today are sending their children off to kindergarten with tears. Tears that their children are growing up. We are not sending Kate to kindergarten with tears. Our tears are hoping our daughter gets a chance to grow up. So, please continue to pray, pray, pray for this chance. A chance to grow up healthy. A chance to one day go to school.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Training Wheels

After weeks of throwing around the possibility of removing the training wheels from Bailey's bike, we finally got around to doing so this week. But first we had to scour the entire house for the knee and elbow pads given to her at some point. Finally, only missing one elbow pad that couldn't be located despite best efforts, we set out to teach Bailey to ride her bike like a big girl. I won't lie - I expected scraped legs and fingers getting caught in spokes....that kind of thing. The reality was that she was fine. She was scared at first, but she gained her confidence pretty quickly. Thus far, she hasn't gone any great distance but it's super exciting to see her spreading her little wings.











And now for the blooper reel....

You've Got to Pray Just to Make it Today (hey, hey)

Funny title (props to M.C. Hammer), not so funny post.

I have been dealing with some internal conflict lately. This is due to learning of many people who are in need of my prayers....your prayers....any prayers.

Some of these people are friends, including a young mother who gave birth to twins but then lost a great deal of blood. Her need was great, and I saw many people band together to be prayer warriors on her behalf. Yet others in need are those I've never met but have been drawn to their stories and the incredible grief, but also incredible faith, of those around them. I think about Jessie Boone, who has been in the hospital with no known cognition or speech since her ski accident in March. I ache for little Kate McRae, a 5-year-old girl in Phoenix who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor after her mom noticed a seemingly innocent shake in her hand about 4 weeks ago. She is undergoing a very strong regimen of chemo that her young mind doesn't understand and her young body will try to oppose at every turn.

The conflict comes with my feelings of overwhelming despair over their plights. I think of them constantly. I pray for them, but then feel guilty about those prayers that inevitably include a version of "please, please don't let that happen to me, my family."

While I never doubt the power of prayer and have tried to be more deliberate about responding to needs by lifting people up, today I was also blessed to read something that put my mind at ease on another front. Kate McRae's father included the following on his blog about the power of 2 Corinthians 1: 3-11:

-God comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

-God’s people praying together with one voice is a mysterious and mighty experience

-When responsibility to pray is divided (shared) among His people the praise is MULTIPLIED through the many

God is telling us that by praying diligently for others, and encouraging others to pray as well, we are asking God to not only bless the subject of our prayers but all those interceding on his/her behalf. What an amazing concept! In this black and white world in which we live, there is no either/or with God. His blessings are abundant and we should be comforted by the power of prayer beyond what we can merely comprehend.

A Whole Lotta Cheese....Picture Time!

Nolan loves to get underneath blankets these days....and, of course, that means Bailey does too.

While this is a cute pic of my boys, Jason jumped in at the last moment. What I was originally trying to capture was Nolan's obsession with Cheetos. He loves to sit up on the counter with a little bowl of Cheetos (baked) and chow down. More, more!!

Here you can kind of see his binky rash and how his head is healing.

Getting a haircut. I think it's funny that he gets excited when the clippers come out.

He's sitting in a big boy chair now....high chair is gone. He also LOVED lasagna....he ate every bit of what's on this plate.

So, we got out the little potty. Nolan is very interested in sitting on it, as you can see here. He doesn't do anything just yet, but constantly says he has to go potty just so I'll take his diaper off and let him sit there. Again, nothing says group activity like a little potty action.

One of our evening activities....Bailey pretending to get married. So cute!

Nolan Boy - 19 1/2 Months

So, I just wanted to get a few things written down since this blog has become more of a baby book than anything I have documented on Nolan in hard copy. He's getting so big and doing so many more things that I don't want to forget.

WORDS HE'S ADDED TO HIS VOCABULARY

-mine (it happens to all kids, doesn't it? EVERYTHING is "mine."
-cartoons
-pancakes
-outside
-love you
-want more/no more
-that's good
-go swim
-drink/want drink
-night night
-potty (and he wants to go sit on it without his diaper....nothing has happened just yet)
-toes, nose, eyes, teeth

I'm sure there are more, but I can't remember them right now. It thrills me that he's started - just a bit - putting 2 words together.

OTHER NEW SKILLS
-He now "catches air" when he jumps. His legs kind of thrust forward so it's almost like he's trying to do a pike jump (for those cheerleaders out there).
-He no longer takes a sippy cup with him to bed, which is awesome!
-He brushes his teeth, although not well. Jason is the only person that can actually brush his teeth without an all-out war.
-He's loving the swimming pool and has a lot (a little too much) of confidence.
-This isn't a skill, but he's definitely attached to his binky. As I hoped wouldn't happen, he has developed the same "binky" rash that Bailey had around his age. I can't remember what pacifiers I eventually bought for her that cured the problem...it might have just been the timing instead of the product. It seems like it went away around age 2. Anyway, his chin is pretty broken out at times. I tend to hide his binky sometimes just to try to condition him to be without it for longer periods of time.

SIZE
-He's up to 23.6 pounds
-He wears 18 months clothes. He might be ready for 24 mos. shirts in the next month or so, but some of his 18 mos. shorts still sag. I like summer, though, as you don't have to worry about length. In the fall, we'll be back to having to buy pants for the length, but they'll be big in the waist.

That's all for now!

Are We There Yet?

Top 10 Random Things I Learned on the Cox Family Road Trip

10. Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" is a delightful distraction from the boredom that sets in after you pass Ardmore. Too bad I only know the chorus so it doesn't last long. It also helps get your mind off having to pee, because we all know Jason doesn't stop and restricts my fluid intake on road trips!

9. Nolan is a great traveler. He watched "The Elf" for much of the 5 times it was shown due to his sister's authority over the DVD player, ate fruit, and rocked out to Bon Jovi. Bailey did really well, too. We were nervous after she asked us if we were in San Antonio as we passed the Warren Theatre in Moore (about 30 minutes from home for those of you not familiar with OKC).

8. I, apparently, am afraid of heights. Upon our arrival in S.A., we proceeded downtown to stroll the Riverwalk, eat Mexican food, and take the kids up to the observation deck of the Tower of Americas. I remember Jason taking me up the tower when we came to S.A. the first time when we were dating....and I don't remember anything crazy happening. This time, however, I couldn't look out the glass elevator and, when we got to the top, my legs felt weak and I couldn't walk anywhere close to the edge (it's all glassed in, but that didn't seem to me to be a rational argument for looking out). The kids' hair was blowing and I felt the gentle swaying of the entire building. Yep, that's when I wanted to go. Funny, my brother had a similar experience in Vegas....but we've known he's afraid of heights since he was a child. Me? Just add this to my running list of anxieties now.

7. We are not Six Flags people. We made plans to spend Day #2 at Fiesta Texas. Soooooo fun, right? When it's 105 degrees and one of your children is only big enough to ride one ride in the entire park (but doesn't understand why he can't do whatever he wants), this adds up to one thing: being miserable. We wore our swimsuits as our plan was to get hot and sweaty and then cool off at the water park. We only made it a couple of hours and then pondered why we shouldn't just go back to the hotel and swim there....less people, more relaxing. So, we were pathetic and left. We had fun in those 2 hours, though, so that's all that matters (trying not to think about the price per hour we paid for that fun!).

6. I will never again use Expedia to book travel arrangements! We booked our stay at a hotel where friends always stay and right by Sea World where our other friends live. It's beautiful, we got a good deal, the end. However, when we arrived (after our long journey to get there and when all the kids wanted to do was hop in the pool), they said that they didn't have a reservation for us and were completely booked for the holiday weekend. Say what? Apparently, a confirmation doesn't really mean anything. Long story short (or as short as you get with me!), Expedia had booked 7 families at that hotel and had not provided that information to the hotel. Jason proceeded to get angry, they told him to lower his voice and suggested we do as another family did and go to the Days Inn down the street that was sure to have availability. They lost him at Days Inn.....smile. It's funny now, but we were not amused in the moment. One of the managers ended up really helping us....calling Expedia, talking to supervisors there, etc. But, Expedia did nothing. They wanted to put us up for one night at a hotel downtown but charge us more for it. Regardless of the various arguments about our inconvenience, they were worthless. Finally, the hotel manager simply said that THEY would take care of us and they paid to put us up at the Courtyard Marriott down the street....one of only a handful of hotels with rooms available, only because they had just opened on Tuesday. All's well that ended well, but it was not a good start to our "no worries" vacation!

5. Salt water pools must be the new thing! Both the pools at the hotels where we stayed had salt water, which I'd never seen before. While disconcerting, I think it actually helped Nolan's wound heal faster! Nolan thoroughly enjoyed jumping off the side of the pool 500 times (he'd say, "NINE" and then jump.....his version of a countdown!) and Bailey is really doing well swimming, at least for short distances. She has a hard time transitioning from taking a breath to swimming again. Once she starts bicycling her legs and gets upright, it's downhill from there. But, she's making great progress and even jumped off the diving board a few times this weekend with the aid of a life vest.

4. When you do a lot of swimming, do your kids REALLY need baths? I propose the answer is no. That's all I'll say about whether our kids DID or DID NOT get bathed regularly on our trip.

3. Next time we go somewhere, I will pack less for Bailey and more for Nolan. She wore the same 2 dresses through the whole trip (and her swimsuit/cover-up) so much of her suitcase went untouched. All of my meticulous "outfit planning" based on the proposed daily activities went by the wayside. Nolan, however, can't eat anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) without it ending up smashed into his hair, shirt, on the seat of his pants, etc. So, note to self that Nolan needs 2 outfits per day if we plan on keeping him looking nice which isn't something we concern ourselves with at home that much.

2. There are ALOT of Cracker Barrel restaurants between here and San Antonio. I would not have known this had we not decided to stop there on our way down, and then saw one at almost every exit thereafter. I do have to say that their Campfire Chicken is pretty tasty!! There IS such a thing as travel food - sunflower seeds, beef jerky, Big Red drink (the drink from the gods, if you haven't tried it), and I'm now adding Cracker Barrel to the list!

And the #1 thing I learned is:

1. We have great friends and only wish they lived closer! We had a wonderful time with everyone (except Danny and Julie, who were greatly missed) and it makes me sad that we can't just have impromptu dinner parties all the time....or go see one of the kids play soccer....or be at birthday parties!

And, for the pics.....these are arranged from last to first (end of trip to beginning) and I'm too lazy to go through and change it around since there are so many of them!

Nolan looks like he's really playing...waiting for the rebound!

Fun with a Hannah Montana game!

Nolan did NOT like us putting the Hannah wig on him!

Bowling with the Flores clan!

I may just have to arrange for Nolan to marry little Maddie!

He's a ladies man already....they couldn't stay away from him!

The "firecracker dance" when the first one went off!

Nolan liked the fireworks, but had to sit in daddy's lap for the duration.

Hot and sweaty Bailey and Ava Sammon.

Family pic!

The kids anxiously awaiting the fireworks. This was after the battle of who got to sit in what chair!

Bailey was proud of her "July dress" that Aunt Pat got her. She thinks she can never wear it again.

Bailey thinks she's a photographer.

The kids liked to pretend to take naps in the big hotel bed.

Our suite...courtesy of Expedia's oversight.

I guess you really can't tell, but Nolan has fallen asleep in this picture. He almost fell out of the car after Six Flags.

Nolan did NOT like this experience!

Hey, it's the guy from the Six Flags commercials. CREEPY!

Some Wiggles ride that I thought I could handle!

We waited 45 minutes for this picture of daddy and Bailey at the end of the log ride.

Hanging out in the room.

We had to go to the Alamo.....for 2 seconds to take a pic.

She poses like Paris Hilton sometimes. Scares me.

On the river....there were bees everywhere which I hated.

On the observation deck of the Tower.....yikes.

A Marilyn Monroe moment.

Love a sleeping kid when you have hours of driving ahead of you!

And, not trip related, but funny nonetheless.....what do you think my son likes to do now that he's acquired a head injury?