Fire Truck, Guys and Ice Cream

Uncle Drew (a.k.a. Firefighter Feste) took us to his fire station for a tour. Cullen was really excited to go see the fire truck. However, when we arrived, the fire truck was out on a call. Within 5 minutes, the garage door opened and the giant truck with flashing lights came roaring into the station. It came to a halt and 6 guys jumped off the truck and took off their jackets and boots. I think the whole scene was a bit intimating to a little 27 lb. boy. Caption Jimmy told Drew to sit up in the driver seat with Cullen, but when it came time for Cullen to climb in, he started crying. Cullen appreciated the big rig, but only wanted to look from a distance. Then Dirk tried to climb into the cab and Cullen yelled "No Dodo, No Dodo" - as if the fire truck was going to eat his dad. Finally, he warmed up to the whole situation after Captain Jimmy offered an ice cream bar. When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's, they asked Cullen what he saw at the fire station and he said "fire truck". Then we asked what else and he replied "guys and ice cream."

Jack 'n Cullen

Spring Fever.

We reached another milestone this weekend. Cullen is now a big boy and goes to bed without his pacifier. All of his "pacies" broke (i.e. Mom and Dad cut off the ends) and Cullen now goes to bed with only the comfort of his two favorite blankies. We do notice that he seems to take a little bit longer to unwind in his crib before falling asleep. Dirk and I will put him to bed, turn on the monitor and listen to the show. He usually sings favorite songs like "A,B,C", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "We Will Rock You" (yes, he is a Queen fan).

Fingers crossed that spring is finally here. It is not unheard of to see snow flurries at the end of March, but the past week has seen temps in the 60's. All of our snow is gone and we are loving our time outdoors.

The Eagles have landed.

Always a great time of year, as the Bald Eagles make their way into our area. Fortunately, for us, they tend to congregate on the ice right behind our house.

Terrific Twos

And so we begin the terrific twos. Yesterday, we celebrated Cullen's second birthday with an absolute blowout of a party. Grandparents, aunts, cousins, uncle, and parents all helped the little man close out his second year of life. We had Elmo balloons, elmo hats, cookie monster tattoos, and Blue's clues balloons. Everything a two year old boy would want to celebrate his birthday. Mom and Dad cannot believe how fast these past two years have flown by and with number two knocking on the door it will only move faster.

Cullen has been developing quite the vocabulary lately. It's been fun listening him trying to repeat what we have said. Mom and Dad have really started to watch what words come out of our mouth. Especially, Dad! Shocking, I know, but I've been known to drop a "F" bomb every now and then.

Our little toddler.

Cullen is growing up so fast. He has started to show interested in the potty training process. I stress that fact that he still pees and poops in his diaper 99% of the time, but he does like to sit on the potty. He has completed both #1 and #2 in the potty and we are very proud of him. Cullen is talking up a storm and has started to put phrases together - "woof woof go?" = "where's Camp". He also loves to help with tasks around the house: carrying his plate to the sink after dinner, opening the garage door and putting food in Camp's dish are just a few examples. "I do it" has become one of Cullen's favorite phrases. We frequently remind him that some jobs require teamwork and others are for Moms and Dads. We are hoping that the dreaded terrible twos won't be so bad (fingers crossed!).

February Fun.