abcdefghijklmno...PEE PEE!

Guess who hasn't bought diapers in TWO weeks?!?! I will admit, we are still doing pull-ups at night because Mr. Coco isn't consistently dry in the mornings. And, I cheated today when we took Claire to the doctor. She was miserable with an ear infection and I didn't want to take a chance. Of course he stayed dry but wanted the pull-up off as soon as we got home. He is loving the new "freedom" he has in his "choo-choos." (Thomas undies...Thanks Auntie She!!!) I am just so proud of my big guy! The downside, he would prefer to be nakie at home so his little cheeks are REALLY chapped! But there is nothing cuter than him running around in a sweatshirt and socks...and that's it!

Long overdue.

I have been waiting for this post until I got the pictures I wanted to put with it. On New Year's day we packed up and headed out west for my Grandpa Wayne's 89th birthday party. My favorite aunt arranged a wonderful surprise party for him. It has been WAY too long since I have been back to that part of the Sooner state and I was as happy as sand burr in some one's sock to get back there. (A nod to the pesky little suckers that can ruin your day in a hurry!) My favorite aunt and uncle have been hard at work remodeling their house and it looked AWESOME! I can't believe it is the same house we used to run through with the pink Barbie car and cap guns. I hope to get a video up of our kids carrying on the tradition. I ate more fudge and homemade goodies in the few days we were there than I did all last year. Mmmm, my favorite aunt knows the way to my heart!

My mom worked REALLY hard on a DVD for Grandpa. She scanned every single picture that we have from Grandma's collection and put them to music. I loved going through and picking out just the right songs for each family. The DVD ended up being 2 hours long and we were really worried that Grandpa wouldn't be able to see it. Enter Grandpa. I have to tell him who I am because his vision is pretty bad especially when he just comes inside. As soon as he figured out it was me, he grabbed me and squeezed me so tight. At that moment, I regretted staying away so long. Yes, it is hard to travel almost 8 hours in the car with two young children. Yes, it's hard for them to be away from home and be totally out of their routine. But yes, it is worth it. I cried as he hugged me more and I remembered, we aren't promised tomorrow. As I type this, I miss my Grandpa.

We turned on the DVD and he immediately saw his picture from World War 2 and then one of him and Grandma. I cried more because I was SO thankful that he was seeing the fruits of my mom's labor! He LOVED it! I put together a VERY condensed slide show of the old pictures that I think are amazing. I can't wait to blow them up and fill my house with my family history.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

(P.S. My dad was holding cousin Christie in his graduation pic, not Mike!)

The party was wonderful. The cake was SO TASTY as usual, thanks to my favorite you know who!!! Cohen loved wheeling "Great Papa" around in his wheel chair. There is something about little boys and "old folks." They just seem to have so much to talk about. He wanted to sit on his lap and love all over him! Grandpa was loving it until he lost what little circulation he has in his legs thanks to my 40 pound two year old! I will forever treasure the picture we got of ALL of us at the party! It isn't very often we are all together and I am so thankful we have a picture!

Snowed in.

We have been snowed/iced in for a few days now. I learned that school is cancelled again tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. I have been so productive and the kids are having SUCH a wonderful time together. I love to hear them play together. I realized yesterday after walking by their rooms that my productive time has come at a cost. Their rooms look like war zones!!! My instinct was to be irritated but I stopped myself. I KNOW that when it is time for them to pick up their rooms, they will be more than happy to help....they always are. I also know that they are learning so much about cooperation, teamwork and how to share. They played all day yesterday and Claire was so helpful with the little guys when our neighbors came over to play. Then it was time for bed and can I just say how glad I am that a bedtime routine if FIRMLY in place at our house. It may vary by 30 minutes here or there (especially in the summer when we tend to stay outside a little longer!) but for the most part, we are set in our ways! There are a lot of things that I tend to be lenient on, but bedtime is not one of them. It is so nice to put them in their rooms, say prayers and that's it! I was just so proud of my little boogers yesterday. I will tell you what Big Daddy was up to soon. I will give you a hint....it involves the "man cave" and the guys in our lifegroup will benefit from it on Sunday.

Now that we are all fed it is time for baths (I already had mine!) and quiet time. I have a VERY important project I am working on that NEEDS to be done tonight! Which leads me to my next and last point for the night. Do you know how insanely HARD it is to keep a secret from your mother who also happens to be one of your very best friends? Ugh. I can't wait until February 7th. She turns 50 and I get to let the cat out of the bag. And no, we are not getting her a cat.

**UPDATE**

Remember THIS adorable little momma to be? Thankfully she wasn't snowed in this morning and they made it safely to the hospital in time to deliver their bundle of joy today. We don't have any stats yet, but I sure can't wait to meet him!!! Congrats to the new parents!