14 Months

Although I'm a day late, I couldn't let Cole's 14-month mark pass without a quick update on what's going on in his world.

He seems to have grown and changed so much in the last few months. We find ourselves saying how we can't believe how much more like a toddler he looks/acts than he did even just a few weeks ago.  It's probably a combo of the recent haircut, the walking and the constant babbling.

Here are a few highlights about Cole at 14-months:

• Loves to feed himself and although gets very messy, does a fairly good job.  
• Babbles all the time, with a periodic shouts mixed in. Current words are "buh-bye!" (said in a bit of a southern accent?!), Dada, Ra-Ra, uh-oh, mema (more more, using the "more" sign), and trying to say "what's that" and "all done".
• Walks everywhere.  Really only scoots when trying to find something to pull himself up on to initiate the walking (he hasn't yet figured out how to get up from the ground and start walking).
• Climbs up on the couch in the TV room and can climb into high chair.
• Speaking of high chair, he's now using the Stokke chair for meals.
• Always has his feet crossed at the ankles when sitting, regardless of whether it's in his car seat, in the high chair, on the ground. Takes after his daddy.
• Wiggles his whole body when excited about something - arms and legs stiffen and shoot out all over the place.
• Down to one nap a day.  He goes down around 12 p.m. and sleeps for 2ish hours
• Goes to bed between 7 and 7:30, and is up around 6:30, or closer to 7 on the weekends, if we're realllly lucky (like this a.m.!)
• Can understand many simple instructions i.e. "take this to Daddy", "get your shoes", "let me have a foot" (when putting on his socks) and then "let me have the other foot!" (he'll put the socked foot down and provide you with his other food to have a sock put on).  He even has helped set the table a few times. I gave him some napkins the other night and asked him to put them on the table. He did his little old man march over to the table and put them on the table. He's also helped with his and Jackson's silverware.
• Loves kitty cats and will trek right over to pet them when the neighbor's cats are in our driveway.

I braved the grocery store with both boys for a big shopping a few weeks back, and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  Definitely not as nuts as I'd expected.

He loves the park, just like his bro

He loves riding on daddy's shoulders, but always feels the need to hold on for dear life.  

Such a big kid, feeding himself oatmeal (one of his fave breakfasts)

They interact more and more and I just love it

Not sure what my fave thing about this pic is - his expression, his necklace, the Irish shirt, the hipster jeans, or his love of the slide

During a recent visit to Yakima, we were able to tour the local Pepsi production line and had a great time. We had to wear hairnets and surprisingly, neither boy seemed to mind. Cole ended up pulling his down so it covered half of his face, and still didn't mind.

In his big boy highchair, at the table

First Family Hike - Coal Creek Falls

With a break in the rain on Sunday morning, we decided to test out our recent kiddo backpack purchase by going on our first family hike. 

Corey did some research and thought Coal Creek Falls would be perfect and it didn't disappoint.  It was only about 15-20 minutes from our house, and was just 2.5 miles round trip, so we didn't worry about Jackson getting too tired, or about taking up too much of the day driving to and from the location.

It only took us about an hour round trip to hike to the falls and back and both boys seemed to enjoy the wilderness and the big waterfall that awaited us mid-hike.  I can't believe that this place was right off Exit 13, in the middle of Bellevue. Who knew?!

We are already planning some more hikes in the near future - a great way to spend a morning, now that Cole is napping just once a day!

He's trying to learn the art of the selfie...

My boys.

One more selfie try.

Hikes really wear a kiddo out - so much so, you've gotta sleep with the butt up.

 

Jackson's on the Move, Too!

While Cole's been working on his walking, J's been spending lots of time every weekend on his scooter and on his bike. 

He can bike all the way to the "horsies" (~2 miles round trip) and goes so fast, you have run to keep up with him. It's been a good work out for both of us.

He's getting really good at both activities and really seems to enjoy them.  Looking forward to lots of bike and scooter adventures this summer. We're already talking about biking to Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up when it gets a little warmer.

Cole's on the Move!

Cole is officially a walker!  Up until last Thursday, he'd take steps and walk between us/things often, but he definitely preferred scooting/crawling to walking. 

Thursday night, he kept wanting to go into the guest bathroom to stand on the stool so Jackson and I kept moving him further and further away, and having him walk back over to it.  We did this until we were all the way at the back door, and he was walking all the way to the front of the house, where the guest bathroom is.

From that point on, he's been walking all over the place. He even seems pretty steady and has decent balance. I joke that he was waiting to start doing it until he'd perfected it.

He did lots of walking at school on Friday and they even mentioned that he seemed extra happy with his new view point.  Along with his walking, he's started to become a better climber, finding it possible to climb up on the couch and into his Stokke chair...he's keeping us even more on our toes than ever before.

(He LOVES the necklace you see him wearing here...he seeks it out and then puts it on himself.  Thanks, Natalie!)

And Cole's on the move in other ways. One of the things he loves to do is to climb up the ladder on the slide, slide down and repeat. 

(Almost) Walking!

Cole's been taking steps between us and furniture for awhile now but a few weeks ago, his teachers were excited to show me his improved walking skills when I arrived at school to pick him up. They had me stand across the room and then stood him up, had him start walking while they held on very lightly to the back of his shirt, and then let go while he (very excitedly) continued to walk all the way to me.

Since then, he's done this quite a few times, but we are never quick enough to capture video before he loses his confidence and reverts quickly to crawling/scooting.  He doesn't seem to mind walking just holding onto one of our fingers - he'll walk all over like that.  He really just doesn't like when we let of his hand or shirt, so we have to be sneaky about letting go. 

We finally captured some walking on his own tonight.  Check it out!

(Side note: Cole is really starting to understand what we are saying, and follow simple directions.  The motivation to walk here was in response to me asking him to take the things in his hands to Daddy.)

This and That

Had to share a few funny things happening in our world lately...enjoy:

• Jackson came home from school today and told me that St. Patrick's Day was on March 17 and that "we need to wear green so we don't get punched".  (He'd mis-heard "pinched".)
• Cole very much uses "dada" properly these days and at times, seems to have a preference for him.  So cute to see, especially since J was a total mama's boy, often crying when I left the room.  Cole on the other hand could care less if I leave the room.  The boys and I were playing in the TV room with the door shut tonight and I heard the garage door open when Corey got home. I announced "daddy's home!".  Cole quickly crawled to the doors and smashed his face up against them to get the first peek of his daddy - but when daddy didn't immediately appear, Cole began crying and screaming, "dada! dada!"
• Jackson knows (and often reminds us) that when he turns 16, he gets to drive. In the car the other day, he said, "I'm excited to drive - it'll be fun because you get to steer and push buttons".  Only ~12 more years until you can steer and push those buttons, buddy!
• Cole started saying "Ra-Ra" for Roxy - he will point at her and say it whenever she enters the room, or when you ask where she is.  It's extra cute, because J used to call her "Ra".  
• Coley also says "Uh oh" now and says it appropriately, often with a palms-up ("where'd it go"/"what happened") hand gesture.
• J's been even more cuddly and sweet lately, giving Cole lots of hugs, and the both of us hugs frequently. He'll often even, out of the blue, say, "Mommy, I really love you."  And he used to often turn his face when I'd go in for a kiss so that I'd get just his cheek, but lately, when I ask for a kiss before bed, he gives me a very gentle kiss on the lips.

And what good is a blog post if I don't leave you with any photos/videos?!

This is what independent eating looks like (i.e. won't let mommy fed him, but still really wanted to eat what was in the bowl).  And this is also what a 1-year old eating soup on his own looks like. That blob just above his nose is spinach. 

 

#independenteatingcontinued #itwasn'tsupposedtobebathnight

 

Ta-DA!

 

Seriously - never knew a box could be SO fun. (And a diaper box nonetheless.)

 

This kid's getting pretty dang good at his scooter - balancing, turning and stopping.  Scooter videos to come soon, along with some bike videos (also something he's doing great with).

Don't mind the wedgie picking at the beginning.

Life Lately

Nothing too crazy going on around here, but definitely lots of cuteness.  Both boys are growing, changing and learning so much so frequently, I sometimes feel like I blink, I'll miss something.

Jackson continues to be extremely perceptive and picks up new phrases almost daily, using them the right context.  Case in point...the kid is a negotiator and we often find ourselves making deals with him ("you can have five more minutes of your show, if you try to go potty" for example).  I guess when we do that, we often say, "Here's the deal".  The other night, Corey had tucked Jackson in and was about to leave his room and they were negotiating whether his door would be open or shut, when Jackson said, "Okay, here's the deal, Dad..."

He remembers everything - the date, that Friday's are sharing days which means we need to pack up something to take on Thursday night, promises we've made or details we've given him days and sometimes weeks before, the weather forecast for the week. It's really amazing to me, because I just don't have that kind of memory - I have to write everything down.  He is often reminding me about things he knows I need to do/remember.  Love it!

He continues to love his bike and scooter and is doing so well on both of them.  Other favorite past times are going to the park, watching Busy Town Mysteries episodes, puzzles, and helping me cook.

Cole's in a bit of a transition phase. He knows how to drink out of a sippy but just doesn't do it much. He still prefers a bottle, and wants us to hold it for him when he drinks. So, to ensure that he's getting enough (12-16 oz./day), we give him a bottle when he wakes up and before he goes to bed, using sippy cups in between.  So though he does well with food during the day, he doesn't get much milk and in turn becomes a bit hangry.  Between that and his one nap a day, he's pretty tired and often fussy when we get home.  He still likes most foods though and can pack away a surprising amount - the other morning, he ate an entire oatmeal packet plus some fruit (right after drinking a 6-oz bottle no less), and tonight, he had a bowl of soup and almost half of a PB&J plus some puffs, crackers and cheese.

He loves doing big boy things like going to the park and doing all the things Jackson does there, and doesn't seem to have many fears. He is pretty close to walking, and I think we have his first official word - "hi".  He's been saying "dada" for awhile but only sometimes it's in the right context.  The other day though, he held a phone up to his ear, and very clearly said "hi!".  A few minutes later he did the same thing but we haven't been able to hear it anymore.

Here are a few photos and videos of our life lately.

J's latest haircut might be the shortest he's ever gone, and I sure love not having to wet, brush and gel the crazy bed head each morning!

J thought my sit-up video looked so fun, he had to try it himself.  Hardly!

This is how Cole spent most of the forth quarter of the Super Bowl.  

In a matter of weeks, J made vast improvements with his coloring (and staying in the lines).

My new trick to keep Cole in one place for longer than 10 seconds - give him lots of puffs and a sippy of milk.  I prepped dinners for the week and made up a salad to take for lunches this week, all while he sat and quietly ate for a good 15-20 mins over the weekend.

Jackson brought this home last week and after asking him what it was (since it didn't seem to go with the "L" theme for the week), I learned that that "It's an Inuit, Mommy!"  Why yes, it sure is.

These two are playing together and sharing more every day and I love every second.

Signing Valentine's Day cards for his class is hard work and takes lots of determination.

While not practical, I couldn't pass up these cute skinny/hipster jeans the last time I went shopping.  Never mind the fact that Cole walks funny in them and can't bend his legs as much as he'd like in order to scoot.  Sometimes, fashion wins.

Cole's getting pretty close to walking, and loves holding one of our hands and exploring.  

After a scary experience on this slide a year ago or so (a wet slide plus slick jogging pants made him literally shoot off the slide), J asked to go on it again over the weekend and had a great time.

Cole's Moving On Up

It was a big week for Cole - in addition to his 1st birthday, he transitioned from the infant room to the first toddler room at daycare!

The transition began on Monday for both him and another boy who just had his first birthday. Each day, they visited the toddler room, staying longer each day, until yesterday, which was their first full day in that room.  With the transition means just one nap around 11:30 and no bottles, so I was a little nervous how it would go, considering he's not fully transitioned off the bottle, and he's been taking two naps per day.

We received great reports each day though, and he seems to really like the new class. The first day, his favorite teacher from the infant room told me she'd gone in to check on him and he was having so much that he didn't even notice her.  Other reports from the week included, "He loved crawling around and playing with stuffed animals", "Cole had a great time in the gym today. He was crawling around trying to catch and push balls with his friends.", "Great job with markers today, I was surprised how comfortable Cole was with them.", and "Cole had fun with puppets today."

Thursday and Friday were the first days he had lunch and napped in the new class, and they said he went to sleep easily, slept over two hours and was one of the last to wake up.  He loved lunch yesterday, eating all of his pizza and green beans.

With the new nap schedule, he's been ready for bed a little earlier each night, but other than that, he's seems to be handling all these changes well.  He was obviously very busy, and enjoyed new activities and playing with new friends.  I'm so glad it's gone so smoothly!

In the month leading up to their transition into the next class, the infant room deems the transitioning kiddos "The Bosses".  

Happy 1st Birthday, Cole!

Happy 1st birthday to our "baby", Cole!  It's hard to believe it's been a year since my crazy quick labor, but it has and we couldn't imagine life without Cole.  He brings so much laughter and fun to our house, as well as loudness, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

While Cole has idolized J since day 1, every week that passes brings them closer together and interacting more and more.  It melts my heart every time...it's just amazing.  I can't wait to see them play more together in the next year, especially as Cole starts walking and talking.

Cole had a great day - it started off with him sleeping past his normal 6:10 or 6:15 wake-up. We actually had to wake him at 6:30 to get ready.  And because it's Tuesday, he and Jackson were able to watch the garbage man do his thing, which came with lots of waving, pointing and clapping from Cole.  We sang him Happy Birthday, and he enjoyed a good breakfast before heading to school.  I picked the boys up early for Cole's 1-year check-up, where he was deemed "perfect", before we headed off to Red Robin for his birthday dinner (J's choice).

After a good dinner of tidbits form all of us, we headed home for birthday calls with the grandparents, opening a few presents - a play cell phone and a ride on airplane (which boy boys love) - and cake and ice cream.  It was my night for doing Cole's bedtime and after a few quick books and a bottle, he was all tuckered out, so I was able to take advantage of some extra sleepy snuggles.

Here are his 1-year stats:

• Weight: 23 lbs, 3 oz. (75-90%)
• Height: 31" (90%)
• Head: 18.3" (50-75%)
• His iron levels came back normal and he handled his three big shots like a champ with just a few tears.

And a few things about Coley at 1-year:

• Continues to babble and repeats some sounds - "dada" is his favorite (and while he uses it frequently, he does seem to use it appropriately at times, like when it seems like he's looking for Corey), "mama", "meow", "woof", and what I swear sounds like "all done" when he's all done eating (though I know it's highly likely it's just a coincidence).
• Continues to point at everything and babbles as he does it, as if to ask "what's that?!"
• Pulls up to a stand against anything and everything, and does it so quickly
• Scoots even faster
• Continues to furniture surf and attempt steps between furniture and between us
• Claps, waves, high 5s, and blows kisses
• Shares - hands you something, accepts it back and repeats
• Shakes his head "no" at appropriate times (no more food, etc.)
• Seems to understand "no" - sometimes he doesn't listen, but he always pauses and looks at you as he considers his next move.  And there have been a few times that he's tried to open a cupboard I didn't want him to so I told him "no no" and then he shut it.  After a minute, he tried again, and we repeated the cycle successfully.
• We've started transitioning over to milk and hope to be full transitioned by the end of the week.  Once that's complete, we'll start to wean off the bottle, and only use sippy cups.
• Loves stuffed animals. He has a shelf in his room with lots of them, and during most feedings, he has to take a break and wants us to take him over to check them out, often grabbing one to bring back to the chair. Once he grabs one, he gives it a big hug.  Cutest. Thing. Ever.
• After a day or two of not loving shoes the first few times we put them on, he's become a shoe lover, like everyone else in the family.  He often scoots over to them, grabs a pair and brings them over to one of us to put them on him.

Oh how I love this kiddo!

Loads of (1st) Birthday Fun

With Cole's love of anything loud, hammering, and play tool sets, it seemed appropriate to have a construction themed first birthday party.  It was such a fun theme to plan around, and I'm really happy with how everything turned out.

The party went great and all the kiddos got along well.  There were no tears, except for a brief period when Jackson took Cole's ball popper from him.  The cake smash started out a bit slow, Cole was definitely into it by the end, with the help of Jackson.  And he was completely spoiled with super fun gifts from all the friends and family in attendance.

I still can't quite believe our baby will turn one in two days. I'm not sure where the year went, but I do know that we couldn't imagine life without him, and that we all just love him to pieces.

The party was a success and was "loads of fun" (which is the phrase I used on the party favor tags).



Party favors for the kiddos - constructions hats and buckets that contained a few construction vehicles, bubbles in construction-themed containers, and a few tools.

I found a huge roll of Caution tape on Amazon, and loved finding ways to use it as a decoration.

He LOVES balloons...but I guess what kid doesn't??

It was fun getting creative with the extra construction vehicles on hand.

I borrowed the sign idea from Etsy, and had such fun coming up with things to include in each section.

 

Costco cake for all the guests in the background, and a giant homemade cupcake for Cole to smash.  Jackson helped me make the cake, using a giant cupcake pan that I rarely have a good excuse to use...until his party!

A pile of dirt crushed up Oreos and a few construction vehicles were the perfect cake toppers.

J did the honors and blew out the candle for Cole...only took him two tries.

"Hmm...what is this??"

Since it was off to a slow start, we told Jackson to help Cole take a bite...

"Okay this isn't so bad..."

"Actually, it's really kind of fun!"

The start of a nice mess

And this is about when we called it a wrap.