Another Vikings post...

I have posted several times now about Cole's continued and growing LOVE of everything Vikings! He was more thrilled with his Vikings calendar and drinking cup than with most of the other gifts he got for Christmas, lol! Over the past month, he memorized the Vikings fight song and I have heard him singing it or humming the tune morning, noon and night! Cole had high hopes that the Vikings would go all the way to the Super Bowl and when they lost in the playoffs, he was disappointed. He has chosen his team pick for next week though so he wasn't crushed by our home team's loss too much. He has taken to "reading" the Sunday sports page and recently cut out the full page picture of Adrian Peterson, who was named MVP for the regular season and hung it on his wall. His other favorite player is Christian Ponder, #7. He drew a picture of them both which Dave and I were quite impressed by. We love the attitude Cole has taken, "they tried hard, maybe they'll get to the Super Bowl next year!" Maybe indeed!

Christmas 2012 Road Trip...

We decided to make the 1300 mile road trip to PA to spend the holidays with my family knowing that long trips would be put on hiatus until further notice with Bebe D on his/her way. So the week before our departure, Cole got to open one gift each evening from us or from Dave's family since we weren't about to lug everything in the truck with us. Relatively early (it was still dark) on December 22 we began our trek east. A huge snowstorm had just swung south of the Twin Cities and dumped on Madison, WI but the highways were clear as we passed through (the side roads we took to lunch were another story). It was a long day but we hit our destination outside Cleveland, OH about 13 hours after we left home. Tired and a wee crabby we all slept well before getting up and finishing the drive on Sunday. We got to my parents house around 3pm, ahead of schedule. :-)

Of course the holiday fairy had descended on my parent's house and it was decorated to the nines. Cole and Gigi counted her vast collection of Santa figures of all shapes and sizes (98!!) Dad had set-up his traditional two Christmas trees (one was in their living room and in honor of my Nana), the other one which was the size of a small shed (10 feet easily and just as round) was set up taking over the entire south corner of their sunroom. Santa hadn't even come yet and the packages were piled and stacked high. Christmas has always been an event in the Scull family. :-)

Cole helped put candy canes on the tree and bring even more gifts downstairs that my mom had stashed in the guest room. My sister and two nieces came over for Christmas Eve dinner just as the snow began to fall. We took a walk around my parent's neighborhood afterwards as all the houses put out candle luminaries. With the snow coming down and the streets lined with candlelight, it was a big magical. Off to bed for Cole with a last check on the Santa app to see where he was delivering in the world. Cole had a hard time falling asleep with his mind and body electric with excitement. We thought he was finally out, only to have his feet pitter patter down the stairs as Mom stuffed stockings, eekkk. Luckily, Pop Pop intercepted the sleepy boy just as he turned into my parent's kitchen and back upstairs I went to lay with him until his breathing told me he was truly OUT! Whew, close call!

Christmas morning dawned early (did we think that Cole would sleep in??? LOL) and he eagerly raced downstairs as I chased him with the camera attempting to capture his face as he witnessed that Santa had come! Everyone else was moving more slowly especially poor Dave who stayed up to put together a LEGO Ninjago set that took almost three hours to complete. An emptying of stockings and then a move to the sunroom where Santa had left more loot. My sister and kids were due to come over later that morning after experiencing their Santa gifts at home. We all took turns opening gift after generous gift. The sun finally rose and slowly we made our way through the piles. :-)


Cole was a happy camper with all his new stuff (and insistent on pulling everything out all at once to fill with batteries or piece together). Dad and Mom made breakfast and I attempted to clean up the aftermath of boxes and wrapping paper. Trish and the girls came over mid-morning and more unwrapping ensued. The kids played all afternoon while the adults recovered. A delicious dinner of Dad's famous rolled rib-roast was had and we all went to bed early, exhausted but happy.

We kicked around the next day, went for a walk in Tyler Park and helped Mom get ready for friends that were coming for dinner. Another storm was pending, this one a rain/mix event, by afternoon, the skies were angry and the rain pelted the windows. It was warm and cozy inside though with great conversation and eats with our guests. Thursday was another awful rainy day and not everyone was feeling great so we laid low and enjoyed the downtime. Dave packed up the truck as we would be leaving early Friday for our ride back to MN.

We pulled out of the driveway around 7am and began the drive west. Pennsylvania is a big state and I agreed with Cole when he kept asking if we were out of PA yet and we said "NO" and he sighed. Finally crossing into Ohio, we got a second wind. We ended up in South Bend, IN for the evening where the snow was falling. We considered driving straight thru but decided against it, it was just too much driving at night on dicey roads with me almost 5 months pregnant. We got up and going on Saturday (my 41st birthday), sailed through Chicago and ticked off the miles until we began to see signs for St. Paul. It was wonderful to get home, despite the frigid cold and snow that greeted us. We unloaded (and I put everything away as I just cannot relax until I do). We would be celebrating my birthday on Sunday instead so we all crashed early, grateful for a wonderful trip, generous family and a fun Christmas!

There are no words..

I'm not sure I can adequately express the utter shock and grief I have felt this past week over the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. I was out running errands the afternoon of December 14, 2012, only to hear on the radio as I pulled into the garage a preliminary news report. I ran into the house and to my computer as I just couldn't process what I had heard. What I read confirmed the worst and yet my brain didn't want to accept such a horrid and tragic event. I phoned Dave and could barely get out an audible message between my uncontrollable sobs. Here I knew no one that had been affected and yet, I found myself grappling with the physical urge to vomit as the numbers of those killed continued to climb.

As the afternoon unfolded, I wanted to run to Cole's school and scoop him up, it was an almost primitive pull and yet the logical side of my brain was finally kicking in and overriding my every instinct telling me Cole was fine and safe and blissfully unaware of the evil that had presided over his peers in Connecticut that morning. The knot in my throat and the tightness in my chest as the past week's news has been dosing us 24/7 about what occurred has not lessened. The faces of those children, their teachers, their principal and their loved ones haunt me. I cannot wrap my head around anymore senseless of an act than taking the lives of so many innocent 1st graders and those in charge of taking care of them during their school day. The fact that Cole is so close in age to them has kept me up at night pondering that we send him off for a day of school, and may never see him alive again. It is just inconceivable and yet it has happened to 20 sets of parents. I am unable to even consider what life would be like without Cole, his smile, his goofy antics, his quirky eating habits, his lilting voice, his hugs...................................................................it is too much so I embrace and recognize that there may not be a tomorrow. It troubles me that it takes tragedy to uproot our stakes in the ground to adopt a more "live in the present" mindset and yet, I find myself doing just that with the hopes that those little angels with their new-found wings have all taught us a lesson about the importance of living/loving EVERY DAY.

My rascal turns six...

As I planned for Cole's sixth birthday this year, it really struck me, how quickly the years are passing. It sounds so cliche but the fact of the matter is that time has literally been on a faster pace than I ever remember. I find myself watching Cole as he continues to digest the world around him and figure out his place in it. He loves to learn, ask questions, and constantly inquires about things he hears or sees. I love that he shares with me what he does during his school day. I treasure our late afternoons as I know soon enough, he will be dropping off his backpack and running out the door to ice skate or sled with his buddies or with the spring thaw, out throwing a football/baseball with his friends rather than with his mom.

Cole wanted to have his birthday party at the SEALIFE aquarium this year. We had visited several times since they renovated and re-opened. I have to be honest that I was skeptical that an aquarium located in Minneapolis far from salt water would be anything to impress. I was wrong. It isn't huge and doesn't have seals, otters or whales but what they have done with the space they have is pretty darn cool. They have the touch-me and the seahorse/jelly fish exhibits but it is the glass surround walk-way that ups the wow factor. It is shaped like a tunnel with glass overhead and on the sides. The sharks, rays, sea turtles and massive and tiny fish swim and glide inches from you. To see their underbellies as they cruise over your head makes you go "look at that" every few seconds..

SEALIFE's birthday package included a private party room (deep down in the bowels of the aquarium, you felt like you were on a ship), make-your-own shark tooth necklace, a behind-the-scenes tour and full access to the aquarium itself. So Cole and 8 of his friends got to see (and smell) the off-exhibit area where new or sick sea animals were brought and treated. They got to see what they eat (yuck!) and got to walk above the tanks where the animals swum about as the public walked through the tunnels below. It was a fun afternoon for this birthday boy!

New status pending...

So the news is out...after several years of hoping and wishing, we will be adding to our family! The losses we have experienced have kept this joyful secret under wraps since late September until we were sure that Bebe D was growing and progressing. Our 12 week ultrasound was proof that we had gotten through our first trimester without issues (just a lot of monitoring) and we could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I had been walking on eggshells these past weeks, wanting to be excited and yet attempting to keep my emotional state in check just in case. It is still hard to quite accept that another lil one will be joining our household come spring but I'm slowly coming around to it and thus, we thought it was time to share the news with Cole plus my "morning" sickness had increased and it was getting more difficult to hide that and my fatigue.

So with ultrasound pictures in hand, we told Cole we had something to tell him. His cautious nature had him glancing at us in concern. We told him that I had a baby growing in my tummy and that he was going to become a big brother. His eyes got big and he jumped up and down and said "there is a baby in your tummy right now?". I answered yes and showed him the photos, pointing to what was what as he wondered aloud "where are its eyes?". He then began to ask a whole bunch of questions, "when would it get here?", "was it a boy or a girl?", "would I have to go to the hospital to have it? to name just a few. We replied as honestly as we could. He wasn't happy to hear it would take until late spring to arrive "I'll be in first grade by then!", we laughed as we told him that no, he would still be in kindergarten. He reached out and put his hand on my belly, gave me a hug and said "I am so excited!". Tears welled up in my eyes at his gesture. With that, he jumped off the couch and went back to racing around like he had been before we stopped him to share the news. Dave and I know that he will be an involved and terrific big brother!

Annual visit with ole Saint Nick...

Cole was weeks old his first Christmas back in 2006 so we didn't make a trip to sit on Ole Saint Nick's lap but I knew that the following year that I wanted to find a special Santa Claus to visit each holiday season. Spring forward to November 2007 as we began getting ready for the season. I didn't want to go to a mall and have Cole sit on the lap of crappy costumed Claus with the fake beard and polyester get-up. I was on the hunt for a Santa that looked like Santa should. I hoped I could find one amidst the hundreds of ones that looked as if they were donning Halloween rentals. And then I got a postcard from our local nursery/greenery where I had bought our perennials and annuals shortly after we had moved in in May. There on the front was Old Saint Nick with a real beard, twinkling eyes and festive clothing/robe and boots. It was just a photograph but it spoke to me and at that point, it was settled, Tonkadale Nursery was where we were headed the weekend after Thanksgiving when Ole Saint Nick would be visiting for two days with the added bonus that pets were welcome in the pictures and a triple bonus that the pictures were FREE plus you could take your own.

We showed up early and only waited in line a short time. Santa arrived with a merry greeting and a magical presence and looked just like he had on the postcard. I felt giddy at such a find. Cole was not happy being placed on Santa's lap and a very upset kiddo with a smiling Santa was our photo that year and the next and the next and the next. Four years running, we went, same Santa, same scenario with a crying Cole and our favorite smiling Saint Nick. Last year, days shy from turning five, we went again, but this time, though slightly hesitant, Cole actually smiled and allowed Santa to talk with him. As the days neared this year and we began talking about our visit with Santa, Cole was all excited and wanted to make a Christmas wish list. He cut out pictures of the things he wanted and created a separate sheet for each of six items. We headed out the Saturday after Thanksgiving and again, though slightly reticent, he eagerly kept asking as we stood in line when Santa would get there. As a "HO, HO, HO" rung out, Cole's eye got big and he strained to see through the crowd. The same Santa as years past stopped and waved as he made his way to his seat. Cole looked at us and said "Mom, it is the real Santa, look!". When it was his turn, he hopped up onto the stage and began chatting away showing Santa his sheets. As he got down and began to walk away, he stopped and said "Santa, I'm going to be in Pennsylvania this year at my Gigi and Pop Pop's for Christmas". Santa replied "I know Cole, Santa knows these things". The expression on Cole's face was priceless. He ran over and told us that Santa already knew he would be in PA. So for another year, the magic of the holidays lives on thanks in part to our favorite Ole Saint Nick.

Visitors...

Grandma & Grandpa Fox came to visit us for a long weekend. Cole had fun playing games, throwing the football & watching games on TV, visiting the aquarium, drawing pictures, reading books & snuggling on the couch with both of them. Cole as usual had the energy of all of us combined and would have happily done a hundred more things. :-)

We have a true fan on our hands...

I mentioned just a mere few weeks ago, what a growing fan of the Vikings Cole was becoming. Needless to say, I have watched more football this fall than I have since my college or Boston days. Cole has re-educated me on the finer points of the various plays. He consumes highlight trailers and spits back out statistics with what seems to be a photographic memory. It has been unbelievable to see him learn so much about the game in just a few short months. He follows the plays with extreme precision, can "read" the scores of all the NFL teams as they scroll at the bottom of the TV screen just by the quick flash of the team symbols and intuitively seems to understand the multiple strategies used that are so dependent on time left, location of ball et al. When there are not games on he wants to know when they will be on. He likes to cut out the pictures from the newspaper when they show his favorite players and has begun posting them on his bedroom wall. He drew pictures of Christian Ponder and Adrian Peterson and want to send them to them. :-) He knows how many weeks are left in the regular season and that the Vikings need to win the remainder of their games to make it to the playoffs. It would be comical to some if it weren't actually truly spectacular to observe.

Cole had been asking to go to a game and Dave had only been hesitating with the concern of the raucous crowds. But, he caved after Cole requested for the 999th time and crossed his fingers that the rowdy fans would be sitting elsewhere. The Vikings were playing the Detroit Lions. Cole was more excited than I could ever describe. Wearing his new Vikings sweatshirt and visor, he and Dave headed to the Metro dome last Sunday. Great seats surrounded by great fans thankfully. And the Vikings WON! He hasn't stopped talking about it since.

Kindergarten School Photo...

After being spoiled for three years with photographs of Cole taken at his Montessori school by Lisa Buth, I was leery this year about how his LifeTouch pictures would turn out now that he was in public school. I have heard (and vaguely remember myself) that in order to get so many kiddos photographed, they rush the kids through like cattle and don't take the time to coax true smiles out of them. I've seen enough of these pictures from friends and family with the standard icky bright BLUE background that my expectations were very low. I did my best to get Cole to practice smiling without a forced expression and went with a more subdued (I hoped) gray background when I placed my order (it turned out more gray-blue). I was pleasantly surprised with the results as Cole's pics turned out pretty well! :-)

My superhero...

This Halloween, Cole definitively knew weeks ago what he wanted to be. I thought for sure when I first asked him back in early September that he would say a ninja or a football player but I was wrong. Without hesitation and to my surprise he said "Spiderman". He had gone through a superhero phase earlier this year but his accumulated action figures had begun collecting dust already and his interest in watching Superhero Squad Show was short-lived. We perused the internet looking for a great costume, because I hate cheap costumes. I know, I know, it is ridiculous to spend money on something they wear maybe twice for the season but I just have always cringed at crappy kid's flimsy Halloween gear. So we settled on the muscular (padded) Spiderman ensemble that we came across complete with gloves, a webshooter wand and socks (not just shoe covers). He had seen a "real" mask at SuperTarget the week before that he really wanted (it talked), so we added that (after he had earned it with good behavior) and voila, his Halloween 2012 get-up was complete.

He got to dress up during the school day for their holiday party and then again for trick or treating that evening. He isn't much of a "sweets" kid so asking for candy from strangers (though less intimidating for him than in year's past) was still not terribly exciting. I guarantee that we will have candy in the house until well past Christmas. We made it to 20-25 houses or so before he had had enough.

To date, he has been a monkey (2007), a devil (2008), a prince (2009), an airforce pilot (2010)and a race car driver (2011).

Cole's First Sleepover...

Cole had been asking to have a sleepover with a friend for weeks. I was all for it but I wanted to be sure that we choose a friend where both would be okay being with one another for 16 hours or so. At almost 6 years old, many times the kids want to do different activities and are willing to compromise for an hour or so but after that things can get dicey. Cole can be overly sensitive too when friends don't follow his "rules" or respect his toys so I wanted it to be a positive experience if I could.

Max is his long time friend and fellow kindergartner. Both Cole and Max are bright, inquisitive and relatively gentle with one another. We finally got a date on the calendar and Max came ready with his sleeping bag and hungry for pizza. They played well together and were excited to be sleeping downstairs in the basement "fort" on the air mattress. Dave hooked them up with headlamps and a movie and we let them unwind for awhile. They were laughing it up every time we ventured to check on them. Finally we had to say lights out and they drifted off. Cole off course woke up before dawn and wanted to know when Max would wake up. :-) We made chocolate chip pancakes and bacon, Max had two helpings. They were sad when it was time for Max to go home and we promised to do it again soon!

5 years and counting...

It is hard to believe that I have been regularly posting to this blog for five years! When Cole was 10 months old, I knew I wanted to find a way to capture in words more moments than I could ever find room to cram into a scrapbook or scribble in a journal. Beginning this blog allowed me to meld both the visual (photographs) with the commentary. To look back and read my earlier work is like taking a ride back in time. The things I wrote about back then seem so distant and yet so familiar. It is amazing how your mind remembers tidbits but not details so I am so grateful to know that I can peruse those adventures, emotions and awe of years ago, and not let them get tucked away to deeply in the recesses of my memory.

232 posts about motherhood, Cole's antics, growth and interests and our journey in navigating life's maze together...I look forward to the years ahead and all they hold (and the next 232 posts that tell about them).