Another cabin trip

We are off to a cabin again today. This time we are heading north to stay with Pat's family. Cole is beyond excited. We've been preparing him as much as possible. He woke up this morning and was so excited to see his "new picture schedule" which shows him exactly what is going to happen over the next 4-5 days. He hopped in the Care Cab van this morning and excitedly told the driver what was on tap for him today. "First I ride with Jan. Then I work at MAC. Then Daddy comes to get me (visualize excited flappy arms here). Then we get the boat. And then we drive to cabin!!" Wow- all of that language. Even though I hear it from him every day, it still amazes me when I think back to where he was a few years back. Cole is incredible, in so many ways.

As you can tell, it's been a while since my last posting. We've been busy enjoying the nice weather (now that it finally arrived!). Things have been going well, with the exception of Pat's birthday on August 8th.

I was out of town that weekend on my annual girl's weekend in Lanesboro. I had two staff lined up to help with Cole on the 8th so Pat could take Connor and do something fun on his birthday. Only Cole flat out refused to go. Pat tried everything he could but it wasn't going to happen. Cole refused both staff. He wanted to be with Pat and Connor. As much as Cole loves to be at home, the days without help get long for us all. Cole is very hard to keep entertained for 13 hours. It requires constant supervision, the activity skills of a cruise director and tons of patience. Pat said Cole had roughly 20 stand up, sit downs for aggressive behavior. That is a lot for one day. To top it off, tornado sirens went off at 9:30 that night and Cole is petrified of storms. Poor Pat, not the way I was hoping his birthday would go. Thank God he's incredibly laid back and it didn't bother him a bit. He is such an amazing Daddy to our boys.

I'm posting a few different pictures. Some are of Cole doing some fun things around the house. On Sunday I was thrilled to see him join a sword fight that Connor and his friend were having. Cole played along so well and enjoyed many laughs and imaginary play. That was a huge deal, as last summer Cole would get so aggressive when friends were here and we had no choice but to end the play date.

I'm also showing you a great picture of Cole in the new "Craftsman Rocks" t-shirt I made for him. He loves it and was so happy to pose for me while I took pictures of him. I seriously think it is the first time in 8+ years that Cole has ever stopped, looked at the camera AND smiled. YEAH!! He made my day.

Finally I had to add a picture of Connor- as you know, he's the best brother on this planet. He truly amazes me at how well he helps and loves Cole. It comes naturally to him and we Cole's life would not be the same without Connor. They love one another (and adoringly tell each other). They are best buds.

Wish us luck at the cabin. New environments can be really difficult on Cole. We hope he does well. I know one thing, he's looking forward to "Sword fights with Zack and fast boat rides with Daddy."