Is it a cold? Is it the teeth? Just let me SLEEP PLEASE!

Well, as many of you know we are staying at my parents and sleeping in the same room with little Ryan so sleep and privacy is, let just say been zilch!!!! This week however has highlighted why tomorrows closing of our new house is so much anticipated.
Poor Ryan has got a double whammy this week. He has been hit by a cold that has his nose running, a cough and a moderate/sometimes high fever. To top it all off I have found (while mouth was open wide crying) that he has I believe 4 teeth coming in. 3 of them are molars and boy, is the poor guy drooling, and chewing everything. So I'm having difficulty accessing if all the fussiness and lack of appetite is from the teeth, the cold or both. I'm sure it's a little of both, but that still doesn't change the fact that the child is NOT SLEEPING! For 3 nights now Anytime after 2:00am is hell, he is fussing,cranky, tried but WONT go back to sleep until about 2 or 3 hours of wrangling,snuggling,and half asleep parents trying to console. Ryan then for no rhyme or reason just passes out with his feet in Ben's stomach and is head lodged in my chest! Tomorrow cant come fast enough and I pray that a good night sleep is ahead of us once again.

What a Splashin Birthday!

My nephew Cadence turned 4 last Sat. and I have to give kudos to by sister in law Jen for having a GREAT birthday party. I had yet to spend a birthday with my little Cadence so this was a special day for all of us. The party was at Wilson Ranch pool which sits right along side of the mountains, not only do you get to swim but you get great scenery as well! The pool was the coolest pool I've been to yet. A water playground for the kids, lazy river, vortex pool, bigger kids/adult water slide and the best part was it all was for kids. Life guards everywhere to take the edge off of having to have 4 sets of eyes to keep track of your little one every second and a huge umbrella (dripping with water of course) for us very white folks who needed the shade from time to time. Needless to say we partied and swam and had a ball. Keaton finally went down the water slide the last hour we were there and once he tried it we couldn't keep him off. We parasitically had to carry him out of the place. Ryan too had a ball, he loved to put his face in the water and giggle and try and steal anyone blow up toy that came by!!!

Growing up!

Ryan is growing up and changing way to fast. I have to fill you in on all of Ryan's funny goings ons as poor kid seems to get overlooked as his brother has been such a handful lately. Ryan has changed so much in the last month and a half. He is no longer the sit and hang out kid, nor his he quiet!! Ryan is everywhere and into everything. He loves to explore every nook and cranny of every new area he finds. He is playful and loves to play peek-a-boo and hide and seek, throw and chase balls, and the new thing this morning was to dance. Ryan has never wanted to watch a minute of TV and today he stopped to check out the Backyardigans as they were singing and dancing so he too joined in. It was too funny. He loves to give high fives and kisses and hugs. Nothing is better than getting a open mouth, slobbery, wet Ryan smooch and snuggle. He is still a great, easy going kid and we truly are blessed to have such a little boy as our son. Keaton and Ryan are starting to play together and I am in trouble is all I can say. It's going to be wonderful watching the two of them grow up together and become best buddies.

Enough already

OK, as parents we don't have enough to worry about but now I have to worry about every toy that I have purchased or am going to purchase in the future for paint safety. First it was Thomas, and now Sesame Street, Dora, and Diego. What is next? I had one of the toys on the recall list, which I wasn't so thrill to find out!! I was reading that they recommend you take your children to get a blood test to check lead levels. Are you kidding me!!! All because of Big Bird and Ernie my child has to be stuck with a needle. I can tell you now this event will be ten times worse than getting any vaccination!!! God help me. Enough with these toys made in China. I may just have to start only buying American made toys which will mean my children will have very few new toys. This will make Ben happy!!

Zoo-rrific

Well, after a long week of battling Keaton I am happy to say we had a wonderful weekend. My normal Keaton was in attendance and what a joy it was for all. We spent Sat. at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo ( http://www.cmzoo.org/ ) which is located here in the mountains of Colorado Springs. We became members so we can take the kids whenever we want for the rest of the year. The weather was nice, kids were in a good mood and great scenery. What more could we want. The zoo has fantastic views of the Springs and surrounding areas as it sits on the side of the mountain. I cant wait to share some of my pictures.
Keaton loved seeing the hippos who were lounging in the water to escape the heat, feeding the giraffes crackers and riding a pony named Indigo. Ryan enjoyed watching the monkeys. He giggled and ran around the exhibit. Boy, is he hard to keep up with these days!! One silver back Gorilla was eyeing Ben, for a moment I thought we may have a dual on our hands!! Ha, Ha!! We took lots of pictures which I will post as soon as are home PC is up and running. It was a fantastic day over all and one without meltdowns so of course Ben and I were overjoyed!!

"The Trying Threes"

OK, I have heard about the terrible two's, but someone has forgotten to fill me in on the" Trying Threes"!! I have read about all the developmental milestones that a three year old will achieve but why hasn't anyone shared with me the absolutely aggravating stage of the "TRYING THREES". People with older kids all say, "Yeah Trying threes are trying!! What, why have I not heard about this. I thought three was going to be rosy. Maybe it's just my child but god help me. What is going on? Sometimes I wonder, is it because of all the changes with the move and that we are not settled into a home yet. Is he acting out because he has no control over anything else so he has to control what he can, or is he just trying to age me ten years? Or is it all of the above. All I know is Keaton has moments where he is normal, sweet easy going Keaton and other times where he is demanding , defiant, and just down right aggravating. He defies everything I say, and challenges everything I do. Argh. I know he has been through alot and we have to be patient but I am just letting all you moms out there who have not heard of the "Trying Threes" , beware three has lot of great times but watch out for the head spinning moment ( your child's or yours!). I guess this is all part of parenting, every stage is exciting and new and some you hope pass more quickly than others. This stage Keaton is in I hope passes VERY Quickly!!!

Those beautiful toes

This one is for you Melissa. Yesterday Keaton was playing with some playdough and I had found a bag of playdough cutouts for him to use. I handed him the bag and went to chase Ryan. When I turn around Keaton had the biggest smile on his face and he says "Look mommy, my toes look like Ms. Melissa's". I should have look closer in the bag as there was one lone red marker in there that he proceeded to use like toenail polish. I guess your pedicure before we left, left a good impression on him Melissa!

What a find!

Of course, I had to check out if Colorado Springs was on Craigslist and to my delight I found out it is and that very day found our family a almost new sectional couch, over sized chair and ottoman from Crate and Barrel for only $600!! The couches have been wrapped up in storage after less than a year of use as the owner got other furniture. It is in great condition and we were thrilled. We almost felt guilty for only paying $600 for them. Our new house has a formal living room, family room and family room in the basement. Needless to say we don't have that much furniture so my find even went over well with my hubby who usually isn't to fond of making expensive purchases but he seem to be pretty happy that I found this as it saved him from paying twice the price if we bought new. To top it off the woman who was selling it is the District Attorney for Colorado Springs so if we get into trouble we know who to call!!!

Buggin!!

Ok, I am very aware I have two boys and may I say they are ALL BOY! They keep me running all day long and the things Keaton says and does makes me go HMMMMMM or OH MY GOD sometimes. Last night proved to me that it isn't going to get any better only it's only going to get worse as Ryan is coming into his own and with a vengeance. My whole family has decide that Ryan is going to be a dare devil of the two. He has NO FEAR of any thing and last night proved that!

Keaton found a little salamander and was of course torchering it by touching it and trying to pick it up, and who was right by his side trying to get at it and hold it but little Ryan. Since he wasn't able to get a hold of the salamander he moved on to what was available and that meant the biggest nastiest bug I've seen in a long time. Colorado has this big, nasty that I have never seen before and Ryan has decided it's the coolest bug ever. He amused my family last night by picking the bugs up and shaking them and giggling with delight!! I on the other hand was horrified. Yuck!!! Needless to say Ryan is fearless and I am in trouble!!