Out of the mouth of....

We spent our Thanksgiving Day holiday and long weekend in Colorado this year.  Cole had never met Dave's sisters and families (four cousins).   It meant another Denham road trip which we are near experts at executing. This time it was 15 hours each  way including stops.  There wasn't much to look at in Iowa and Nebraska other than vast farmland but the weather was clear which we were thankful for.  Cole and Tucker both are such road trip warriors.  They have spent many many many hours and miles having adventures criss-crossing the country.  This was the first time though that Cole began with "are we there yet? are we in Colorado?  This is taking a lonnnngggg time!" 

For this getaway and to make things easier we stayed in downtown Denver at a dog-friendly hotel.  We had quite a few hours to fill between visits and a whole morning on Thanksgiving to ourselves.  This year, many stores were open and surprisingly (to me) the parking lots were full.  We took advantage of this odd change to holiday tradition (as it seems fewer and fewer people actually get holidays off anymore) and walked around the HUGE Bass Pro Shop Lodge.  Wow, talk about an experience.  Dave and Cole were like two kids running around.  Cole wanted to sit on every ATV, climb in every boat, play with the monster truck display, race cars in the kid's area and sit in the tents.  I was more of a shopper and decided to splurge on a nice windproof jacket.

We drove around a lot to find parks for Cole and Tucker, headed up to Boulder to see the town and have lunch, and spent time with Aunts Katie, Kelley, and Uncle Sean, Dan and the kids, along with of course enjoying a yummy Thanksgiving dinner (green chiles and cilantro under the skin of the turkey, best bird I've ever had) and lively conversation!  We also enjoyed an evening at the Denver Zoo walking around under the festive holiday lights. 

As we headed out early to begin our trek back to Minnesota, we were trying to get things situated in the truck before leaving the hotel garage.  It was dark, cold and we were all tired.   After a wee bit of grumbling, we got on the highway and watched a beautiful sunrise with the snow-capped Rockies bathed in the morning glow.  Cole was all chatty and being quite funny.  Dave and I had been talking and Cole kept coming up with witty remarks.  Dave goes "you have all the answers huh?" and without a moment's hesitation Cole volleys back "yes, that is what I do". 

Would he like a Job??

So Cole and I take the Volvo over to the dealer for its oil change earlier this week.  We got a coupon for $20 off if we came in between 3:30-5:30pm.  Always waiting for a significant deal on anything, this was an easy discount to take them up on.  Borton Volvo has a great kid's play area too so Cole and I dropped off our car in the bay and headed inside.  He wanted to walk around the showroom especially since they had the crash test dummy set up.  He loved the convertible too and wanted to climb inside but I said no, we could only look.  Then he got all excited when he saw a Volvo with its hood up.  He ran over and started running his hand over the exposed engine with its shiny parts.  The manager and a sales guy were chatting a few feet from us and had given us a smile when we first entered.  Cole edged his way slowly around the front and sides of the car, staring wide-eyed at the engine compartment and said quite loudly, "mommy, it is so beautiful".  I laughed out loud and began to reply when one of the two reps go "that was great, does he want a job?".  Cole got shy at this point since he dislikes being the center of attention but was thrilled when the manager brought him over a Volvo scaled-model car.  He takes a look at it after saying thank you and says "but mommy this isn't our Volvo".  The manager goes "wow, he knows his Volvos huh"?

A mom moment...

Cole caught a bug this week, probably thanks to Dave and I who have been coping with it ourselves. Typically Cole is the carrier but I think things happened in reverse this time. They should make light switches, door knobs, kitchen pulls and faucet handles with anti-microbial resistance finishes.  Maybe that will be my million dollar idea!!

With a terribly runny nose, a dry cough and just an overall icky feeling, Cole mustered through our first (of many I'm sure) winter colds.  I will not send him to school with a cough of any sort.  I just won't no matter how it complicates my ability to work.  As for the runny nose, his sensitive skin breaks down with continuous use of tissues so I have special saline wipes and use an arsenal of homeopathic products to try and avoid chapping his skin any further.  He was a trooper and though a little less energetic than usual, he wanted to play and do the things he normally does. 

He doesn't nap anymore and though once in a blue moon he will fall asleep on the couch or in the car midday, by day's end when he is sick, one can anticipate that PATIENCE be on the menu for dinner as his body is DONE and trying to tell him (and everyone else) so.  Bedtime can be difficult as once overtired he almost becomes manic and trying to subdue him can be a test. 

On day three of his cold/cough, he was working on fumes as we finished up reading our books.  He wanted me to snuggle with him.  As I wrapped my arms around him and began to feel his breathing slow (although raspy), he turns to me and says "mommy sing to me".

In that moment, I felt the tears spring to my eyes as it had been many many months since I sang him lullabies.  I used to sing to him every night and then one evening last winter he had said "mommy I don't want you to sing to me anymore".  I remember that so vividly because it was like a dagger to my heart.  It was him sharing that he didn't need that from me anymore.  I also remember replying "okay buddy",  got him settled with lights out and my upbeat "sweet night nights" then leaving his room with tears rolling down my face.

Now he wanted the comfort of my off-tune voice.  Ever so briefly,  my mind scanned itself to bring up the lyrics and melodies of those stashed away lullabies.  I began to hum them at first and soon the words were flowing out.  I sang for 10 minutes or so and watched his face soften and his hands go limp.  I would have stayed there all night and sang to him.  I was so touched that in his sickness he still needed something from me that was far beyond providing a sleeve to wipe his nose on.  It was certainly another mom moment...

My Little "Maverick"

We went to the Air Show in St. Cloud in June and we ended up spending the entire day there since there was so many jaw-dropping aeronautics taking place.  The Blue Angels and the Stealth Fighter Jet were the most amazing.  We were on the hunt for the Blue Angels replica jet as soon as we saw another little boy with one.  Cole is still playing with it though its one wing has been superglued together numerous times.

I got the idea for Cole's Halloween costume after attending that show as I thought how cool that would be to dress up in a jumpsuit with patches, a helmet and dog tags.  Cole's grandfather Denham and Great-Grandfather Roger were both military pilots.  So I searched high and low until I found what I wanted.

Halloween is still a bit challenging for Cole since he is wary of strangers and understandably questions why we want him to dress up and go up to the doors of people he doesn't know to get candy (and he doesn't like candy except for lollipops) but I think in due time, he will begin to embrace the holiday.