8 Months

As Jackson would say, Cole turned 8 "mum-fts" yesterday!

He's been very busy and is starting to move around quite a bit more, but in his own way.  He loves to sit and spin around or lay on his tummy or back and spin around to get to see and/or reach whatever he needs.  It's definitely a unique take on moving around, and something we hadn't experienced with Jackson (who army crawled just after 7 months, and was crawling just before 8 months).  As I've mentioned, he will roll from tummy to back occasionally, but typically chooses not to.  And I'm not going to lie...I am appreciating this (mostly) non-mobile phase.  I remember with Jackson always liking the current phase but looking forward to each new/next phase, but with Cole, I know how much harder it is to keep track of them and get things done once he starts moving, so I"m enjoying this phase where I can sit him down with some toys in one spot, and know that he won't be going too far.  But I know it probably won't last too much longer.

Other things new this month:

• He's learning to give high 5s
• Still loving to clap, and we'll find him doing it on his own while playing
• Eating more and more solids - a few times in the last couple weeks, I think he's eaten more than Jackson at dinner. And he just quietly works his way through whatever is on his tray - a big change for us!  (No bribing, no telling him to stay in his chair, etc., like we have to do most nights with his big bro.)
• Making lots of sounds and "talking" more and more every day
• Enjoys the mouth patting game (he'll make humming sounds while I pat his mouth, which makes a fun sound and gets lots of cute little smiles out of him)
• Has worked through his rough sleep patch (!!!) and typically sleeps from 7:30 p.m. until 6:15 a.m.  He usually naps 3 times a day (though has been just fine with two naps several times in the last few weeks
• Is a pro at picking up one of the spare pacifiers in his crib and re-inserting it when needed.  (Often times, when we lay him down to put him in his sleep sack, he quickly rolls and reaches to grab one and as it inserted before we even have him halfway in.)
• Speaking of sleep sack - he's no longer in his sleep suit overnight, or at naps.  We transitioned into the sleep sack at night right around 7 months, and he did great with just a few somewhat restless periods for a few nights.  Then over the last few weeks, we've stopped using the suit for naps and while we feared he'd go back to mostly short naps, he still takes at least one longer nap per day (typically his morning nap is 1.5-2.5 hours, and his first afternoon nap is typically 45 mins to just over an hour).
• He's extremely squirmy which makes diaper and clothing changes very difficult.  I usually give him something to play with while I change his diapers, which helps keep him fairly still but tonight, I literally had to move in a full circle, along with him, around the floor of his room just to get diaper cream and a diaper on him, before his PJs.  It's quite the workout.

I've been back at work for half of Cole's life already which seems crazy - I feel like I've only been back for a few weeks.  And I know I'll be saying that I can't believe he's 1 before I know it.

This & That

Jackson continues to come up with amazing questions, say the funniest things, and is basically becoming quite the know-it-all.

He loves to look at the forecast on his phone for all the cities we know people in, and then tell me all about the weather for that day/week.  We were looking together one night before bed, and he saw a moon for that day, and he said, very enthusiastically, "It looks really moon-y, today!"  I can't say I blame him...moon-y the opposite of sunny, right?

For some reason, he truly thought his friend Romi in his class at school was going to turn 5 leading up to her birthday a few weeks back.  He was adamant about it, and never would believe me that she was only turning 3.

Not sure what his teacher actually told him, other than she's from a country far away (Taiwan) but he was adamant that "Miss Alex lives at the North Pole!"

One of his friends left Rainbow School to attend Montessori school.  Jackson told me that "Aaron is going to high school now!"  I kept telling him that Aaron was just going to another preschool, but he wouldn't believe me.

We go to the farmer's market for dinner every Wednesday evening and it just happens to be across from Skyline (the high school he'll go to).  We must have told him that once a long time ago, but every time we drive by, he says "That's my high school!"

He's got a great memory and can recall everything we've told him in the past.  When asked what age he can drive, he will tell you 16 every time. Or when asked when he can have coffee, he'll tell you 16 (we must have told him that once, because if we just tell him "when you're a big boy", he confirms he's already a big boy, hence us having to tell him a specific age).

He is very perceptive and notices when I've recently painted my toenails. He'll tell me, "I like your NAY-als, Mommy!"

And one of our recent favorites..."hockey socks".  In his class, when you reach 10 smiley faces for good behavior, you get to pick out a "treasure".  The only toy he hadn't already selected when it was time to chose a new one yesterday was a hacky sack, so that's what he came home with.

Life Lately

Lots of fun to be had around here lately.  Here are a few highlights.

Happy (belated) birthday, Corey!  (I realized early last week, about a week after his actual birthday, that I never did a blog post in honor of the big day - oops.  Unfortunately it's kind of the story of my life lately.  Everything is half-done, too late, or a mess.  But not to fear - I didn't actually forget his birthday - we celebrated with a nice dinner out at El Gaucho, followed by drinks and watching the Husky game at Earl's.  A great date night out, while the boys enjoyed time with my parents.

Jackson was invited to his friend Romi's birthday last weekend, and had a blast. Her mom is quite crafty - she made a fondant Abby Cadabby cake and did face painting.  J loved looking like a pirate for the day.

Jackson is usually my grocery shopping helper every weekend. Not only does he drop things into the cart for me, he hands the items to the checker, helps me sign my name when I pay, opens and shuts the back door of the car, and even empties the bags when we get home.  I turned around after putting some things away the other day to find him like this.

I can't stand how cute he looks in his Seahawks jersey!  We'd avoided trying it on thinking it looked big (it's 12 months) but finally tried the other day and were pleasantly surprised to find it actually fit.  He seemed to enjoy it.

Cole's latest party trick is a seated spin.  He will go around and around if you want around him, like a dog chasing his tail.  He just loves it though.

A family of Hawks fans

 For the time being, Cole continues to love to eat any solids we give him.  He will just keep opening his mouth any time you put a spoon or fork near it, without looking/caring what is about to enter.  Tonight he ate an impressive serving both of spaghetti and meatballs, along with some bread, and was eager for more after every single bite.  He's extra happy when he's eating, as you can see from this video.

Jackson started Lil' Kickers soccer last weekend and is having a blast.  Not much actual soccer going on yet, but lots of cute games and drills to help the kids get comfortable playing with others, following directions and having fun on the field.

I have one cute family, if I do say so myself!

For my mom's birthday/Mother's day this year, my dad and I chipped in on a girls weekend for my mom and I, which we just recently had the chance to enjoy after a busy summer.  We shopped at the Seattle Premium Outlets and stayed at the Tulalip Casino.  We enjoyed dinner and some gambling, as well as checking out all of our bargains.  Jackson had outgrown many of his 3T clothes, so while we all score some new things, he took the cake.  Loved having my mom to myself for a bit - we hadn't had a weekend away, just the two of us, since 2010!  Thanks to Corey and Joan for watching the boys, making the girls weekend possible.

Love to see these boys having so much fun together.  Can't wait until they're able to play together even more.

J's First Day of (Pre)School

Jackson began the Rainbow School's preschool program yesterday! 

In preparation for the big day, he and I went on a shopping date last week to pick up a new backpack (he picked out a cute puppy bag).  And then over the weekend, my mom and I spent a night at Tulalip and an afternoon shopping at the Seattle Premium Outlets (a belated weekend getaway for her birthday/Mother's Day), where we picked up all kinds of big boy school clothes. So yesterday morning, he was all set and ready to roll in a new outfit, with his new bag. 

Every day, he'll be in "Blue" class (the preschool class) from 9-12, before heading back to "Green" class (his current class) for lunch, naptime and playing.

He was very excited to start class and when we'd been talking to him about it over leading up to his first day, he had all kinds of good questions like when was he going to go to kindergarten, who would be in his preschool class, when would he go back to Green class each day.

Over the weekend, he and I tackled his first homework assignment - we put together his "ME" box (a box of things that he loves/represent him, so share with the class so they get to know him). He presented that today, and did a great job.

I dropped him off in Blue class yesterday since it was his first day (normally he'll be in a different room with lots of other kinds between drop off and Blue class starting), and aside from looking a little shy, it went very smoothly.  He found a seat at a table and began playing before I'd even left the room, looking up to give me a big smile as I blew him a kiss.

Miss Chris (the main preschool teacher) has had great remarks about his first day, and we look forward to seeing all the new things he learns, now that he's following an official curriculum.

If you're Cole and you know it...

Our take on "If you're happy and you know it..."