What a wonderful weekend

As usual, things have been very busy around here! We had such a great weekend. Saturday morning, Eli & I went to the YMCA where he played in the childcare and I did a spin class. He seemed to have fun playing and making new friends. On the way home I told him that Grandpa & Grandma were coming to see him. His response "How 'bout Ryan?". I kept telling him Grandpa & Grandma but he was only concerned about his friend. Well, imagine our great surprise when Ryan was waiting for us when we got home! Eli was so excited to see his friend and they enjoyed some play time in the back yard. Tim's friends Preston & Maria stopped by to see us as they were up for the day for the NC State football game and had not met Cole or seen our house. It was great to visit with them. Just as they were leaving, Grandpa & Grandma N arrived. Whew - what a revolving door!! The afternoon was a treat for me as I was able to go to the fabric store alone. I felt guilty but admit I enjoyed the peace and quiet. Saturday night we had a great dinner of fresh Spanish Mackerel (caught Friday) and ended up going to bed early.

Sunday was another treat. Tim & I took Eli to Umstead for a bike ride while Grandma watched Cole and Grandpa worked in the yard. (A little side story here: I very much enjoyed riding with my boys but I did not enjoy the work of the ride. It was mentally tough. In my head, I'm still the same girl who raced mountain bikes and was pretty good at it. Now it's like starting over with 35+ extra pounds and my body can't do what I remember doing. That's hard. I know it takes time but that doesn't make it any easier and it definitely doesn't make me any more patient!) Tim, of course, pulled Eli in the trailer and we had such a great family ride. The first half was tough for me, the next 1/4 I really enjoyed and the last 1/4 was tough heading uphill back to the truck. Eli seemed to enjoy his Mommy / Daddy time and had fun riding in the trailer. Sunday after nap, we went on a family trip to Target and just hung out.

We really enjoyed our weekend. We had fun with Tim's parents and are very thankful for all their help. We were able to get things accomplished AND have a lot of fun!

Thursday going for a walk with Mommy - hanging in the stroller big boy style!

Preston & Maria

Eli and Grandma playing blocks - they were building a garage for his car

Grandpa & Cole

Family self portrait pre-ride Sunday

Eli and Belle - popcorn watching 'Cars' Sunday after nap

Such a sweet little face =)

Family of the Month

We have been chosen as Primrose's Family of the Month this month - kinda cool huh? Here's the write up that is on the board at Eli's school. It is surrounded by some of our favorite pictures.

We are so excited to be the “Family of the Month” - let us share a little about ourselves.

Our family got its’ start in 2002 when Tim and Evia met while mountain biking at Umstead State Park with friends. Tim never had to officially ask Evia out on a date as most of their dates were bike rides after work and road trips to go ride in the mountains. Pre-children, but with our dog Belle, we enjoyed road biking, mountain biking and hiking in the mountains. In October 2004 on one of these adventure trips, Tim proposed to Evia at the top of Mount Mitchell and they were married the following June in Little Switzerland. The Nelson family was established and celebrated with an adventurous honeymoon in Moah, Utah.

On Christmas Day 2006, we found out that our family was expanding - such a great Christmas surprise! Eli joined us in August 2007 and our lives were forever changed. We then joined the Primrose family in December 2007 and have enjoyed watching Eli grow into a toddler, full of energy and learning a lot along the way - there’s never a dull moment in our house. Eli became a big brother on July 4th this year and Cole will also join the Primrose family this October.

While the boys are at Primrose, Tim is busy working as an Industrial Designer for BFS Industries designing boiler feed systems and Evia is a Senior Project Manager for BE&K Building Group specializing in University construction projects. On weekends, we love to do as much outdoors as possible - bike rides, hikes, neighborhood walks, hanging out with friends. We’re adapting to life with two boys and making all of these adventures family affairs. It makes life so much more fun!

My boys today

Snapped a few pictures of my cute boys this morning. Even sick, they're cute as can be. Eli is doing better and went to school yesterday and today. Cole is so pitiful. He wakes up about 4am really wheezing and I end up holding him upright for a few hours trying to help him breathe. He still smiles at us and other than his wheezing and sneezing, you'd never know he is sick.

My Handsome Big Boy

Would you like a biscuit with that "cheese"?

Still happy - taken between sneezes!

Snow White and the Three Dwarfs

The adjectives that I've been using to describe our family and our house lately remind me of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. So, play along with me, if I'm Snow White here are my three dwarfs:

Sleepy = Tim

Happy = Eli

Sneezy (and Wheezy, oh wait that's the Jefferson's) = Cole

Hopefully we'll all be back to just plain "Happy" soon.

What we've been doing

Things are kinda crazy around here right now (ok, maybe Mommy's just crazy). Eli woke up with a cough Sunday morning and then seemed ok until last night. He had a really rough night with a fever and lots of coughing. Tim took him to the doctor today and she said it's just a bad cold but if his fever spikes up or any other negative changes, to let them know. He was so pitiful last night. Tim did such a great job taking care of him all night and keeping him calm while Cole & I stayed downstairs. I absolutely hate seeing him so sick and upset. He kept telling us last night that he hurt. =(

Up until last night though, we had a great weekend with lots of family fun. Here's a quick run down and a few pictures. I didn't do very well with the camera this weekend.

Friday night: Family shopping trip to Kohl's, dinner at Moe's and play time on the train table at Barnes & Noble

Saturday: I took both boys to the "Y" daycare, I swam while Tim went on a bike ride, lunch at home, Eli & I went to BJ's, nap time and then pool time.

Sunday: Family walk to the lake to feed the ducks, Tim went on a mountain bike ride with our friend Mike and then we hung around the house.

Monday: Tim & Eli went on a bike ride at Umstead while I took Cole to his 2 month doctor appointment. After nap, Eli went to play with his friend Ryan who was in Canada all week last week. Then we went to Kara & Brian's house (Owen & Faye) for a cookout. It was great to hang out with friends. Eli was a little crazy playing and his energy got Owen all jacked up too. Owen is typically pretty laid back but Eli had him running all over. Yes, my child, the bad influence. =)

The weekend was long but quick - I know you all understand. We had lots of fun and are already looking forward to this weekend! Hope you all had a great Labor Day holiday and relaxed a bit.

Eli eating the bread instead of feeding the ducks

Is this a smile? Cole hanging at the pool.

Our silly crazy boy

Little fish

Little Monkey (he's an animal of all sorts!)

Running around Owen's house with a fire hat - they were fun to watch

2 month check up

Cole had his 2 month check at the doctor today. Mr. "I'm such a laid back baby you'd think I was always asleep" did great. Doctor did the normal well baby exam and all looked great. I had a question about his eating. He takes a long time to eat - I call it lolly-gagging. A 5 ounce bottle can easily take 45 minutes to an hour. That's all well and good except at 2am when you really want to go back to bed but end up awake for an hour and a half - I digress.....Anyway, she said he has a good sucking reflex and couldn't find any reason why he takes so long other than just being a slow eater. I'm really concerned about it because he will start daycare in a month and I want to make sure he is eating. I'm going to experiment with the time between feedings and wait until he's really hungry as opposed to every 3 hours or so. She said he is gaining weight nicely so there's no concern from that standpoint.

At 2 months, our doctors do 3 shots (Pentacel, Prevnar, Hep B) and one oral vaccine (Rotateq). I opted to only get one today - it was Pentacel, one shot that includes Dtap, IPV and HIB. He did amazingly well, barely even cried when the nurse gave him the shot. Nurse told me that when babies flex their leg before the shot that it hurts more and Cole was relaxed as could be. I'll take him back in 2 weeks to get the other vaccines.

Today's stats:

Weight - 12 pounds, 11 ounces (75th percentile)

Length - 23-1/2 inches (50-75th percentile)

Head circumference - 41 cm (75-90th percentile)

He's not quite as big as Eli (barely) but definitely holding his own. I'm going to have my hands full!!

Two Months old

Happy 2 Months Cole!! It is so hard to believe as time is flying by.

We have had a great month together. You continue to be such a sweet boy. I call you my angel boy because you just go with the flow and don't get upset too much. Your brother was (in my memory at least) much fussier; I imagine it was because it was all so new to me. Our days right now are spent doing a little exercise, some house chores and any errands that we need to do. We try to see friends and neighbors some each week. This past month you went on two road trips - to visit each set of Grandparents. The trips went much better than expected. You have met so many people from each side of the family this past month. You also went to both Mommy & Daddy's work places. Eli has been really good with you. He likes to report to me what you're doing when he can ("Baby Cole happy", "Baby Cole sleeping", "Baby Cole sad" - that's for when you're fussing) and has started trying to pick you up. I have to watch him but it's so sweet that he wants to hold you. He will pull you close and give you a hug. I hope you two will be the closest of brothers and always love each other.

We have one more month together before I have to go back to work. We've started going to the Y so Mommy can get back in shape and the ladies in the nursery love you because you're so easy. We're also working on more tummy time and holding your head steady. You're very strong and have good head control. We take you for your 2 month check on Monday so we'll get your stats and see how you compare with Eli. I have a feeling you won't be the "little" brother long!

Visiting Daddy

Today Cole & I went to visit Daddy at his work. It was great to visit him at lunch and see everyone he works with - have not seen them in a long time. I think Tim enjoyed showing Cole off (just as he did Eli two years ago).

Hi boss - Cole meeting Tim's boss Mike

A new use for Daddy's desk (changing table)

Daddy telling Cole what he does all day

New shoes

Old shoes - Size 8.5, well worn for 4 months (notice toe area)

New shoes - Size 10 (HOLY COW!!), this was the only shot I could get. Apparently they run faster and jump higher than the old ones.

Bubble Bath

Eli had his first real bubble bath the other night. Had to share some cute pictures. Not too many of the bubble bath "action" because they'd have to be censored.