July 31, 2010: Fun Filled Day-Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Around noon the adults decided that all three boys NEED a nap…and a long one at that! Our next destination was the Santa Cruz boardwalk, so we loaded the boys up and hoped they would all fall asleep before we got there and then we could just push them in the stroller as they napped. Carter and Cohen were both out before we got on to the highway…and they handled the stroller and backpack transfer with ease. It is times like these when I am reminded how wonderful they are =) Jameson was out for the drive, but as soon as Tony tried to take him up to the hotel room for an actual nap, he woke up!

Around 2pm our adventure at the Boardwalk began. John and I got Costco tickets that included two unlimited ride bracelets and a bunch of other coupons for a steal. When we got to the ticket booth and read the ride information it became apparent that Carter would need an unlimited bracelet too, bummer. But Jameson and Cohen were able to ride free with John and I. After riding every ride possible, our day at the Boardwalk was over. Before we headed back to Palo Alto, we ate dinner at the Santa Cruz Diner…the very one featured on Diner’s Drive-Ins and Dives. John was in heaven!

Here are some pictures from Santa Cruz:

(The Santa Cruz boardwalk!)


(Carter waiting in line by himself!! Flying the heliocopter...alone!)

(Carter and Daddy bonding via little kid rides)

(Trooper Cohen waiting for Big Brother to ride the rides Cohen couldn't go on)

(The boys at the arcade...love the dads+sons+guns picture....)


(Cohen loving the pirate boat ride....but not loving when it stopped!!)

July 31, 2010: Fun Filled Day-Thomas the Train

Wow, what a day! As a last hoorah to our summer in San Francisco, John and I planned a day for the boys. Carter is in love with Thomas the Train, and he spends hours building intricate tracks and moving the trains through his design. He has a few Thomas movies, but he has moved on to full length features (like Disney) and is only sporadically interested in watching short films, ala Thomas. While searching for things to do in San Fran, John came across a company that does train rides from Felton to Santa Cruz. As he was glancing at their website he came across an event of a lifetime: A Day Out With Thomas the Train. In reading the brief description we thought it would be a fabulous thing to do with the boys. Even better was the fact we would still be in town during one of the 3 weekends of the event run. So we bought tickets, told our friends from San Diego, and made a plan to have a day for the boys.

Saturday was the day! We spent the night at GGpa’s house in Palo Alto on Friday, and got up bright and early today to make the 1 hour drive to the Roaring Camp Railroad. The event included a 25 minute ride with Thomas the Tank Engine and a meet and greet with Sir Topham Hatt. As an added bonus, after the train ride the boys were able to partake in the activities at the grounds like storytelling, Thomas movies, a tattoo and face painting station, and an imagination station that was filled with every Thomas toy available. Also, a bounce house and children’s folk music really rounded out the experience. Oh, and I can’t forget the decorations…Thomas the train was everywhere: from the big “decoration” Percy, to Mavis and Emily posters, and every talking train in between.

Carter was in HEAVEN. It was so much fun to see the look on his face when we walked through the covered bridge and on to the grounds. Again, Thomas was everywhere. The Carter started rattling off all the names of every engine he saw…some of which John and I have never heard of! The kid has an incredible memory. Cohen had a blast too, but on a different level. He liked running around in the big open grassy spots and playing in the red barn. He also liked playing at a Thomas table that his brother was not at and as such was not taking the toys from him. (That changed after our train ride when 200+ toddlers showed up to play with the three small tables of Thomas trains and tracks…)

We spent the morning with Thomas and had even more fun because the boys’ friend Jameson came up from San Diego to spend the day with us! Jameson was who we went to Disneyland with in June, and it was soooooooooooo stinkin’ cute when Carter and Jameson embraced and Carter said “I’ve been missing you James!” “Where did you go? Yous was at Disneyland with me!” And Jameson replied “CarterCohen, hi!” They are totally long distance BFFs, for sure! Jameson’s mom and I worked in the same law office in San Diego, one small difference is that she is a lawyer J And with that territory came the obvious predicament: plan a weekend to travel to NorCal and end up having a trial date for Monday morning. We were all hopeful the case would settle prior to this weekend, but alas that was not the case. Jenn’s husband Tony braved the 7 hour drive (which took 10 thanks to a big rig accident north of LA!) with Jameson to spend the day with us. I must say, Tony was a trooper. And the looks on Jameson’s face was definitely worth the trip.

Here are some pictures of the day out with Thomas:

(Life size Thomas the Train!)

(Train Ride!!)

(Family photo op with "decoration Percy")

(The boys checking out the decorations)

(Carter getting a tattoo...and then showing it off)

(Carter wanted to be in the backpack)

(Jameson and the boys)

(The boys having quality time with Thomas the Train play tables...we NEED one!!)

July 27, 2010: Debbie??

I have to add a funny story about the boys and their similar first words. When Carter was 14 months old we were in San Francisco for Christmas. He had just begun saying a few words, but was still predominately using sign language as his method of communication. During the trip, my mom, her parents, and her siblings were brainstorming ideas of what Carter should “call” her. She didn’t like Grandma because she felt she was too young to be a grandma (news flash mom, you became a grandma at the same age your mom became a grandma!), and “Nanna” was her grandma’s name. My aunts and uncles threw out things like “nonnie”, “nanny”, “Grammy” etc…but she wasn’t too interested. Finally it was decided that “Nama” was the perfect name. Not too old, not too young…it was just right. My grandma was pretty certain that Lynn would go by whatever Carter decided to call her, but for the time being she would humor my mom in her hopes of being called “Nama.” The next day we were trying to introduce Carter to my mom as “Nama”…and he repeated it a couple of times so we all thought it was set. However, later that day Carter started calling my mom “Debbie”...and continued to call her Debbie!! We have no clue where he got that from, but that was what he called her the entire trip. My grandma was thoroughly amused that she was correct…and thought Carter’s choice of “Debbie” was simply hysterical. My mom wasn’t too impressed, and instead of accepting it she would correct him each time with “my name is Nama. You can call me Nama.” We left San Francisco unclear that Carter would call my mom anything other than Debbie. Thankfully, by the time my mom flew to Spokane the weekend after Cohen was born, Carter began calling her Nama…and it is what he has called her ever since.

Now that Cohen has started saying words, we’ve been coaching him to repeat things that we say in an attempt to help him learn the names of various objects. Auntie Libby has done a great job of “helping” with this effort…though the only Cohen remembers is “Bibby”, and I’m beginning to think that was the only word that was offered during Auntie Libby’s lessons =) Once he had Bibby down, we moved on to “Nama.” At first it came out like “Maaama” and then “Momma”, but at least it was close. But then this past week the funniest thing happened: Cohen started calling her DEBBIE!! Seriously! I’m not even joking…and there was absolutely no “coaching” Cohen to say that. My mom is floored…and we are all trying to figure out why calling Nama “Debbie” is so appealing. This has been going on for the past week…so we’ll see if my mom can go 2 for 2 with “Nama” or if she’ll forever be called “Debbie” by Cohen =)

July 23, 2010: A Visit with Cohen's Guardian Angel

We traveled home to Idaho this weekend for John’s 10 year high school reunion. We landed in Spokane fairly early, and decided to meet up with our friend Kathy at her house in Post Falls.

Kathy isn’t just a family friend; Kathy is Cohen’s guardian angel. If you remember, Cohen had a primary nurse who a) told us about what a primary nurse was and immediately volunteered to be Cohen’s b) pushed him to push himself to meet necessary milestones in the NICU like going from CPAP to Nasal Cannula, weaning off supplemental O2 all together, and learning to bottle feed c) decided to humor Cohen by not replacing the NG tube for a third time the day he kept pulling it out and d) provided me (and John,too) a comforting person to talk with during the long days and was someone whom we had 150% trust (way more than we trusted ourselves) in keeping our baby boy safe. That primary nurse was Kathy. We hit it off right away, and she even rescued me from life at RMH and brought me to her house to scrapbook. It was amazing. We have kept in touch over the last year and she is very near and dear to our hearts. Every time we’re at Sacred Heart for a doctor appointment she uses one of her breaks to come see us. This time we decided to pay her a visit.

The boys immediately took to Gramma Kathy…and her house! They loved running in her back yard and playing with the dog toys. It became apparent that we need to send Gramma Kathy some of the boys’ older toys so that she has a supply on hand =) It was an amazing visit catching up with each other’s families and Cohen spending some quality time being loved on by his guardian angel. There are no words to explain the feelings we have toward Kathy and the pivitol role she played in saving our baby boy’s life. How do you even thank somebody for saving your baby?? The bond that grew from our NICU experience has only grown stronger during the months Cohen has been home. She will always have a place in our hearts and in our life and we love her very much. The boys can’t wait for our next play date…and either can we!

(Cohen and Gramma Kathy...life long bond. He has always remembered her, especially her voice. He lights right up when he hears her speak. Maybe it is because he heard her for almost 8 weeks straight??)
(Family!)

(Gramma Kathy playing with the boys....she is truly a gift)
(Cohen enjoying some freedom to run around..it was fabulous and made us sad that we don't have a yard for the boys)

(What do you mean we can't play with the yellow stick that attracts dogs to pee near it??)

(Gramma Kathy's 'Sweet Baby Cohen' is not so much a baby anymore...and because of Kathy he is not a 'wimpy white boy' either!)

(The attempt at getting a picture of the boys....Cohen being his 'sweet' self again, haha!)
(One more group photo before we left for Sandpoint. We love you Kathy!!)

July 20, 2010: It's a Date!

In an effort to give each boy more one on one time, we have started taking the boys on individual “dates.” Now, while it may sound a little weird that we would call spending time with our son a “date”, it actually stems from a conversation with Carter. It went like this: Carter “Are you guys going on a date?” Us: “Yep. Sometimes mommy and daddy need to spend time together, alone.” Carter “Oh. Should you take me on your date sometimes?” Us: “Great idea. We’ll schedule a date soon.” Carter: “Howabout tonight?” Us: “Nice Try!” With that baby dates were born.

We took Carter out on a French fry and Shirley Temple date at a brewery near Nama’s house. He was not too sure what to think when we ordered him a Shirley Temple, but as soon as it was placed in front of him his eyes lit up and he was grinning from ear to ear. Daddy also got a Shirely Temple, and Carter was very excited to be drinking the same drink as daddy.... he’ll have to wait 19 more years before he can have the same drink as mommy =)

July 18, 2010: Party in Vacaville

We took a drive to Vacaville today to meet up with a college friend of mine and celebrate her son’s first birthday. Lindsay and her family moved to Vacaville three weeks after Darren was born…crazy! I haven’t seen Lindsay since my graduation in 2005, so it was fun to meet up and introduce our little families AND catch up with each other.
(Happy Birthday Darren!!)
It was a HOT day in Vacaville, so the fact that it was a pool party made it that much more fun. Carter and Cohen had a grand time splashing each other in the kiddie pool…okay, really it was Cohen who was splashing Carter and Carter was freaking out. Daddy cooled the storm by taking Carter to the big pool with him while Cohen and Mommy hung out in the shade.


Darren and Cohen were adorable as they tried to “play” together. Darren was quite assertive and Cohen was a little bummed that he was getting bossed around by someone smaller. They spent a good half hour trying to get a water bottle away from one another. Too cute!
("I'll trade you your sippy cup for that water bottle")
("Or I can just have both")
("Nope, Cohen, you keep the sippy cup, I want the water bottle!")
("I don't think so. I'm outta here!")

After the pool party we hit the outlet mall. It is a fabulous outlet mall with a lot of higher end stores…however, we only made it to a few because the weather was sooooooooooo hot that even shopping wasn’t much fun. Can you believe that?!