Seven Months and Counting

Cole turned 7 months old today...and yes...I can't believe another month has gone by. He is such a good boy - I know we are a bit bias, being his parents and all, but Dan and I truly believe that we have the best little boy. He is such a smiley boy - he even smiles at me as I rock him to sleep. I try not to "engage" so he will fall asleep, but it is soooooo hard. I usually just close my eyes and rest my chin on his little head so he can't make me giggle. Nothing better than snuggling with a sleepy baby.

Cole is eating like a champ. He loves all of his fruits and veggies, and the occasional lick of our food. He is fascinated with our food and drinks - when we eat he just grabs and grabs and anything and everything...including Daddy's beer. He still despises peas, but he loves everything else so far. He tried mango this week, not quite sure at first, but now he is eating it without hesitation.

He is such a good sleeper too. Cole goes to sleep around 7:00pm and doesn't wake up until about 6:30am. He sometimes tries to play at 5:15ish, he talks to me in the video monitor for about 10 minutes and then goes back to sleep. It is so hard to not go and get him, but I know his routine now and he still is a sleepy boy and needs a little more sleep. Some mornings he wakes up before I leave for work and I get a few extra minutes with him. It is funny, when I go and pick him up from his crib, even in the complete dark, he grabs for my necklaces. He keeps feeling for them even when I, don't have one on.

I had to break down and move him to the big bathtub. I should have moved him months ago, but I wasn't sure how he would like it. He has always loved bath time, since his very first bath, and I didn't want this to change. He LOVES the big bathtub. He lays on his belly and kicks his feet like he is swimming. His Nana (Dan's mom) bought him some fun bathtub toys for Christmas and he loves them. He has to take one with him as we dress him in his pajamas. I know we will sign him up for swim safety lessons next summer. He plays and plays until we take him out of the tub.

Cole is sitting up on his own now, for really long periods of time before reaching for something and tumbling onto his side or tummy - he sits and plays with his little karaoke stage (it is a mirror with a music, a microphone, and flashing lights - only fitting since Dan and I met singing karaoke). He also has a little basketball goal that cheers when he makes a basket. He is starting to clap (with a little help), but cheers "yay" when anyone claps their hands. He is also starting to give kisses. He grabs your cheeks with both of his little hands and puts his mouth against your mouth. He is not exactly puckering up, but it still is the sweetest thing ever.

He is also totally fascinated with his dogs, Allie and Brady. He scooches over to the baby gate and talks to them. He is even grabs the railing and tries to pull himself up to get to them. They tolerate him so far...even letting him do the whole - bang, bang, bang on their heads.

It is such an exciting time of the year, celebrating the upcoming holidays and all. I am so thankful that I get to share all of my family traditions with my son this year.

Six Whole Months

I know I say this every month, but it is so hard for me to believe that Cole has been in our lives for six whole months. Our lives have changed so much, but so much for the better. Dan and I talk quite often about how lucky we are to have such a happy, social, sweet little boy.

Cole is now 23lbs 9oz and 28 1/2 inches long. He is starting to wear 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers. I KNOW...we have a big boy. He is in the 97 percentile in height and weight. Cole is way bigger than all of his friends. I think he will slow down here as he starts to move around more, but if he is already the size of an average one year old at six months...I can't imagine him in May. Needless to say, I think he will be the kid in the center top row of the class picture (just like his mommy and daddy were).

Cole is definitely becoming his own little man already. He talks a lot and has started making lots of new silly noises. He imitates our sounds a lot and often sticks his tongue out at us and spits...I am hoping this is not a sign of things to come. I am really trying to get him to start the mmmm sound of mommy, but he just laughs at me. I am sure his first word will be da da :)

Our sweet boy is rolling all over the place. I put him on his blanket in the living room - with tons of toys and before I turn around he has rolled 3 times and is under the coffee table - and not exactly happy to be there. He is also reaching for the toy that he wants and then scooching to it. He has started putting his butt way up in the air, like a worm, and moving towards whatever he wants to get. He is trying really hard to sit up on his own, but he can only sit for a few seconds without our help - usually because he starts reaching for something and falls over. Tonight he started leaning forward really far as he sat up and then lunged to his belly to scooch...maybe the first signs of trying to crawl - well it kind of looked that way to us.

My kid is definitely a fruit lover. We tried all of the veggies - squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, and peas - has hated peas so far...he gags and throws a mild "tantrum" if you try to make him eat peas. He loved everything else until I started introducing fruits. He loves fresh banana, apples, peaches, pears, prunes, and even plums. He has a little rash on his cheeks from the plums right now, but nothing to unusual. I have to trick him into eating many of the veggies now, because he wants his fruits. Oh well, better than french fries right? We just started giving him a little water out of a sippy cup too. He has figured out how to get it out, he drinks a bit, then plays with the cup. He had a blast banging and chewing on the cup tonight after dinner.

My little boy has 2 bottom teeth now. He got his first tooth at 5 months 1 week and his next tooth the very next week. He wasn't a very happy boy with both coming in at the same time. I think he might be getting ready for his top ones now, but Dr. Millar said his top gums didn't look too swollen yet.

Cole is sleeping in his own bed, in his own room...and mommy has slowly made her way out of the room next to his...video monitors rock by the way. I also moved the monitor to Dan's side of the bed so I would stop waking up all night long to check on him. He goes to bed around 7pm and wakes up around 6:30 every morning (99% of the time - he had a rough week last week, but now is back on track). He starts off in the center of the bed, on his back - but NEVER ends up that way. He twirls around and around and then ends up on his tummy sometime in the early hours. He seems to like to sleep on his side the best (like me). I am not usually home when he wakes up in the morning, but Dan sends me pics and video of him almost every single day - singing and playing. He wakes up happy and HUNGRY!

Like I said, it is hard for me to believe our son is six whole months - it has gone by so quickly. I am sure I will say that every month - times flies when you are having fun...

A Sad Day Made Happy!!!

We had a cul-de-sac carnival on Saturday in celebration of Halloween. 50 plus people, including adults and children enjoyed the festivities (and wonderful weather).

A few months back I was talking to the neighbors about how we should do a neighborhood "carnival" for our kids someday...we did it one time when I was a kid and it was so much fun. Well, better now than later right? So the planning began...

Dan, Cole, and I put flyers on our neighbor's doors and asked them to email me if they were interested. I received lots of emails, but once many found out they had to be responsible for a game/activity - the number dwindled. In the end, we had over 20 booths including a bounce House, Pumpkin Plink-o, a Mad Scientist Lab, a train ride, tattoos, Pumpkin Bowling and a lot, lot more. We received permission from the city to block off the street, everyone brought lots of yummy food, and we had perfect, perfect weather. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time - kids and adults!

Brynn's due date was October 31st - she would have turned one this week, and after loosing her, I had convinced myself that Halloween would never be fun again, but I was wrong. I definitely had a few moments yesterday...I had to fight back tears - but watching my sweet boy enjoying all of the fun helped me turn those tears into smiles.