5 Months Old

It is VERY hard for me to believe that Cole is officially 5 months old today. May 4th to October 4th...how did so many days go by so quickly? He is definitely starting to become his own little man. He is a VERY happy baby. People comment all of the time how "good" he is. We take him places and he just watches everyone, talks to people, and flirts with the girls.

This past month he has started to roll over, both ways now. He rolls to get a toy, then rolls back over when he has it. He is better at this in the morning when he is fresh and not so tired from the day's events. He is a little parrot too. If you make a noise, he tries to copy you. If you make a face at him, he tries to do it back. He constantly makes "spitting" noises to get your attention - like little razzies. It is lots of fun when he does this with a mouth full of cereal. He is also trying to sit up - but he still needs LOTS of help from mom and dad - but he is trying.

Cole's new favorite toys are his saucer and his jumper. He gets to jumping and it is so funny. He has little frog legs that bounce all over the place. He also likes to watch Sponge Bob and Football with his dad - I know, I know...but it is not worth the battle. They laugh and have fun and that is all that matters to me.

Cole has started to reach for me when I come to him. Well, he has started to grab my hands and I take that as him reaching for me. It makes me feel good and loved, so I'm sticking with he is reaching for me. He has also started sleeping upstairs in his own bed. It has really helped. He is almost making it to when I would "normally" wake up in the morning. After I get up and start getting ready for work - Dad takes over. Before I leave I often find them both in the recliner, sound to sleep. It is very sweet.

This is going to be a fun month for us - Halloween and all. I have had some sad moments, thinking that Brynn would be turning a year old this month (her due date was October 31, 2008), but Cole brings Dan and I so much joy - I wouldn't know what to do if he was not here. He truly is a gift, a special gift in our lives. We are truly blessed!

Carrots and Green Beans and Squash Oh MY!!!

I decided to make Cole homemade baby food...wow - now that was a task I was not ready for. Dan and I went to the store and bought fresh fruits and veggies (a few frozen veggies due to the nitrates). We spent $250 on all of the produce (and the donuts we bought for ourselves...we are still "working" on eating better). We brought it all home and the process began.

I was lucky that my mom and dad "volunteered" to help me on this crazy adventure. Dad played with Cole while mom and I cooked, steamed, and processed our little hearts away. We got a really good system going - I would prep and cook (whatever that entailed) and mom would use her mega food processor to puree the food and then she would put it in the ice cube trays. I would then cover it up and put it in the freezer. At one time we had about 40 trays in the freezer - we had to finish freezing a few things this morning because we were out of trays and out of room.

Veggies : Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash, Peas, Carrots, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach

Fruits: Applesauce, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Avocado, Papaya, Mango, Blueberries

I tried everything of course - totally loving all of the fruits (except I thought the avocado needed some salsa). The veggies are so bland - I would definitely add some flavor to them for me, but I know Cole gets the boring version for now. I gave him a lick of the avocado yesterday because I was so curious to see his face and he loved it. He has only been eating rice and oatmeal cereal so far, so I think it was a new fun taste. I really don't think he is going to be too much of a picky eater - he swallows oral vaccines and Tylenol like it is the best stuff ever - but we shall see.

I read somewhere that it often takes a baby 15-20 tries to truly decide if he/she likes something, so we have lots of time and lots of frozen cubes to decide.

I'm tired and I know my parents are too - but I also know it will be healthier and really if you get down to it - cheaper for us. I can't wait to see his reaction today to his first "real" food...Acorn Squash.