Beachin' It

We've spent the week at the beach celebrating Scott and Allison's wedding and having a little fun on the beach too. We'll write more later but just wanted to say hi to all and share this pic.

Favorite Things

A friend's blog, as well as a photography website that I frequent, gave me the idea of documenting Cole's favorite things. Right now they all seem to start with "B".

Balls, Balloons, Bubbles and Blankie (or "kie kie" as Cole likes to call it).

I thought I'd try to take a photograph of each of them with Cole. Blankie was the most obvious to begin with, since Cole and "kie kie" are inseparable. I was hoping to get a really nice image of Cole holding "kie kie" in his sweet embrace but this will have to do for now.

To the Circus we shall go...

Cole's first Circus experience was a blast! Although a smile never came to his face, his eyes never left the activity on the arena floor. He was particularly enchanted with the tigers as he pointed and practically demanded to be let down to make his way to the cage (Sorry little guy...not gonna happen!).
Grammie also came for a visit. We went Downtown to the National Geographic Museum to see a frog exhibit...how cool! Sunday brought cool, rainy weather so we spent the day indoors watching videos, playing with Cole's new toy (video coming soon) and watching Hockey.

Happy Easter

Despite the fact that Easter was a tad bit early this year, and thus a bit chilly, we spent a wonderful, sunny day at Mommy's Aunt and Uncle's house in Fredericksburg. Mom, Dad and Aunt Tiffy hid over a 100 Easter eggs and then the hunt began! We designated a small person zone so the big kids wouldn't trample the little ones during the hunt. Then the candy eating began! Cole was so hyped up on sugar, he babbled the entire car ride home (normally he would have slept). Cole loved the treats that the Easter Bunny brought. A big plastic bucket for our future summer beach excursions, an Elmo stuffed animal, a Sesame Street video (he soooo loves these right now!) and lots of yummy candy. This year the Easter bunny even brought Mommy a basket :)

Jibber Jabber

Cole has turned into one talkative little guy these days. I specifically noticed this past weekend when I rendezvoused with some girlfriends (yes sans baby and hubby) in Texas and called home to say hi. I was speaking to Craig and there was all this raucous in the background. I figured he had visitors. As it turns out, it was our Jibber jabbering toddler! Wow! Dazed with the normal business of everyday, I can say that there are a lot of things that go unnoticed and just how much he is now speaking was one of the things that had escaped me. It’s so amazing to hear him actually speak words (now granted he probably knows and says about 10 x as many as I can give him credit for). I hear that some time soon I will be sorry for “wishing” for more words, but for now I’m simply amazed.

Hot Rod

 

Demo continues...

 With Craig in the middle of our bathroom demolition, Cole and I have been spending lots of time AWAY from the house. One thing that Cole likes to do is to go to Nanny's house and play with her birds. This photo is of Cole and Sunny but Nanny also has 5 baby Cockatiels right now. They're ugly and cute all at the same time!
We also took a metro ride to Pentagon City this past weekend (a favorite of Cole's...the metro ride that is) and we went to Toys R Us to check out the new toys. All in all it was a quiet weekend spent recovering from pink eye (yes...the adults avoided it!).

One colorful week...

Wow what a weekend! First Grandma and Pap came down from PA for a visit. On Saturday evening, we threw a surprise 30th Birthday party for Aunt Tiffy. Cole spent the evening charming the adults and going up and down and down and up the carpeted stairs (and shutting the door again and again..his new favorite hobby). On Sunday, Cole met our friends Jimmie and Kristen from North Carolina, up for a baby-free weekend of fun.
The spectacular weather on Monday (high of 67!) sent us outdoor seeking some fun. We went to the playground then headed into Old Town for the President's Day parade. The weather began to change mid-day and we were forced to run home while it drizzled...Mom was soaked by the time we got there. Although the weather had made a change (but still nice) some new friends invited us over for an impromptu BBQ...yummo! When Cole and Oliver (Cole's new Stroller Strides pal) disappeared into another room....and were wayyyy too quiet...Craig and Tony discovered that they had found the markers and were eating them! That was fun to clean up (Cole chose the green one). It was a great addition to the purple bruise on his forehead from his very first ever fall down the steps earlier in the day (Yes, he's okay). Last but not least we have to add pink to the mix....that is PINK eye. Yes...but noooo! The doctor confirmed it this afternoon. So far it's been a healthy winter...I guess we couldn't keep a perfect record.

Our very Hungry Caterpillar

On Sunday, Cole ate…..

One cup of milk
Snack trap of fruity cheerios
One bowl of oatmeal
One coconut cupcake
One bowl of chicken noodle soup
2 marshmallows
One lollipop
Handful of craisins
Several pretzel fishy crackers
One apple with peanut butter
6 pieces of cantaloupe (okay I didn’t count!)
Many pieces of shredded Chicken
Another cup of milk…

Phew!

As I was reading Cole the real Hungry Caterpillar yesterday, he made me laugh as he tried to eat the book. He wanted the lollipop on that page and was going to go to any length to get it! We then proceeded downstairs, where he ate an entire apple by himself (he never ever ever does that!)

Rub-a-dub-dub

...three boys in a tub! We made a trip up to York to visit Dave, Amy and the boys this weekend (and the girl in utero!). With each trip, Cole seems to enjoy playing with his cousins even more. Its lots of fun to watch them be crazy with one another. I think most of all Cole enjoys the indoor space to run around (and all the toys). It makes me sad that he doesn't have that same luxury at home....oh maybe some day!

Boys and their Trucks

By the title of the latest installment of "Little Man" you might have thought that Cole got a nice, new Tonka truck but instead its Daddy that got the new toy! It was difficult for Craig to part with the green Cavalier of his youth (yes we're getting old!) but he finally did it! Craig is a big boy now...or has he regressed? Either way I think Cole and Dad are going to have some good ole' times in this blazing red beauty...Mom might even have some fun times in it too ;)

Testing 1...2...3

So one of our big Holiday gifts was a video camera. Craig and I had decided we were much more of the still picture type but I've always been a little envious of friends and the video they have of their kids. Well...never fear...Pap steps in and gives us a way too generous gift. Not just any video camera but the mega of them all...complete with its own hard-drive. So now all I have to do is figure out how to use the thing, transfer the video to the computer, edit it, post it, archive it...phew. I'm exhausted just thinking about all of it. So whether we use it weekly, monthly or heck yearly, we'll have some cute clips of the Little Man.

Here's my first attempt...Cole bath time. He just learned to blink this week and still one of my favs...his version of "moooooooom".

Enjoy!

Christmas Morning

I was so proud of our little man for standing tall for this Christmas morning photo...such a big boy! Now that the holiday season is over with we are happy to have some time to rest and relax (as much as any almost 20 month-old will allow). Santa was very good to all of us and even required us to leave some gifts in PA b/c they were too big to fit in the car! Thanks to Grandma and Pap for that one...yes, yes we know it was on the list!
We're looking forward to our next "projects"...truck shopping for Daddy (he finally is going to get something to replace his 10+ year old high school vehicle) and remodeling the bathroom (ugh!).
Cole is busy working on speech these days. He mumbles a ton, but i still can't understand much. Craig is dictating that bath time pick up by me is preceded by a request from Cole of "Muuuuuuum". It's really cool to hear. I've never thought much about how hard that probably is to say...much more difficult than "ma ma".

The meeting

With the Christmas season in full swing we thought we'd introduce Cole to the person in charge, Good Ole' St. Nick. Well it took about a minute before Cole burst into tears! So much for a good picture :) I wonder how many years its going to take before I can get a good one to put in the cute frame I bought just for the special shot.

We've been busy elves ourselves...decorating the tree, attending holiday parties and of course shopping. Cole has been a super trooper, spending hours in his stroller while Mom shops away. I'm wondering when the awe of the Christmas tree and ornaments is going to go away. He loves to point to them and wait for the answer as to what they are...."giraffe, snowman, santa (mom saying "ho ho ho...hoping to have Cole catch on...no luck!), giraffe, pooh bear......I could go on forever and Cole would keep pointing. He's also pretty intrigued by the wrapped gifts under the tree but doesn't know that they can be opened...thank goodness! Best of all I think he likes the Holiday cookies...but what kid doesn't!

Fa la la la la...la la la la

Cole is gearing up for the holidays in his spiffy reindeer ears (and adidas outfit!). He is enjoying having a tree in the house and lights on all the houses.

Our NFL Beauty King

Cole is at the strangest stage...babbling in what seems like a foreign language (that only his parents are foreign to!) and playing with the oddest things. Recently he has taken an extreme liking to Mardi Gras beads. We have several strands around the house that he puts on...takes off...puts back on. His animals wear them, he takes them to bed, he wants to wear them in the bathtub. One odd little boy!

A mother's right

Okay so Cole will likely hate me someday for subjecting him to the torture of such a girlish costume but you can't deny that this isn't cute!

On to other things...Cole is now 18 months old! Wow...a year and a half, where has it gone? As his 1.5 year milestone, Cole decided he would finally hit the 20lb mark :) So we now legitimately have the car seat forward-facing, although we switched it 6 months ago to allow the little man to have some leg room!

We also wanted to point out our new blog link in the "friends and family" section. A friend of mommy's, Russ, and his wife, Kimmie, just had twin little boys, Jake and Drew. Hopefully Cole, Drew and Jake can meet some day.

That's all for now!

Trick or Treat?

Cole had a great time going out for Halloween last night. He got the hang of the whole thing pretty quickly and amazingly threw away his shyness, if only for an hour! He strutted his little toddling self right up to the front doors and helped himself to 2 pieces of candy, thank you very much....because just one is not enough for this cute of a costume! Of course, many thought he was a rabbit and we also got a few "what a cute little girl" comments (umm...excuse me but he has a BLUE ribbon around his neck!) Maybe next year we'll go for something a little more boyish :)

Fall Sundays are...

football Sundays! It seems fall has finally hit in terms of the weather in the DC area. After 4 continuous days (and 6 inches!) of rain, the cooler temps of the season seem to have settled in. It has taken all our might the last few days to keep the Little Man inside...we definitely have our work cut out for us this winter. I am going to have to invest in some warm clothing for both me and Cole because NOTHING is going to stop him from being outside!

The Wonderous Things...

that a 17 month old can accumulate! Cole is quite a funny guy these days. He is a really sweet little boy blowing kisses, giving kisses and lots of hugs too. His collection of stuffed animals seems to be the biggest receiver of these sweet affections. He has started to drag them off to corners of the room...or under chairs...to shower them with his love and attention. He likes to talk to them, read to them or drag them from place to place. Its quite a hoot to watch!
Cole is also working on knowing where his nose, eyes, ears and mouth are. Since he's such a quick learner we're now moving on to belly, knees and toes. Perhaps the funniest thing to me is how much he seems to "know". We tell him to put something in the garbage and off he goes. He can pretty much follow any command...and don't dare mention going outside or "bye-bye" because he will be instantly at the door. Such a cutie.