First day of Preschool

Cole's first day of preschool went without too much of a hitch. I was most concerned with getting him moving this morning but he seemed to understand that we had a place to be and that he would want to go to that place. I walked him into his class, after begging him to wear his backpack, and then he wouldn't take it off! He was quickly engrossed in playing and I was long forgotten. I stayed for a few minutes to watch him and when I decided to leave, I barely got a wave. It didn't hit me till after I left that this is the first time I've left him with a non-family member and I was a little afraid (for me and him).
At pick up time, one of his teachers let me know that he had a little collision on the playground and as a result cried. The first thing he said to me in the car was, "Mommy, I fell on the playground and I cried. Where were you?" I've never had to answer to him like that and I can't say that I liked it. Despite the minor incident, Cole told me he had lots of fun with storytime, where all the kids got in a circle and sat down to listen. They also had grapes, cookies and nice, cold water (according to Cole) for snack time. He was also excited to tell me that he sang the Happy Birthday song while he washed his hands and at the end he kissed his hands, just like the teacher told him to. I think Cole is going to learn lots of fun things at school.

Savoring the alone time

So this week, more than ever, it has hit me that the new one will be here very soon. While I am completely overjoyed by the prospect of another little boy in our home, I am so sad that Cole will no longer be an only child that I have begun to cry about it...on a daily basis! I'm sure he has no true idea of whats to come. Cole is merely excited at the prospect of having a friend to play with, watching movies with mommy and new baby on the couch, and running and jumping with his new brother, all things he has told me that he would like to do with the arrival of his baby brother.
While it has always been important to me to have quality time with Cole, at least as much as possible minus the cooking, cleaning, etc required to run a house, that quality time seems so much more important right now. Yesterday, we went to the library twice! Although there isn't much on our agenda today, I am going to be sure that we have lots of playtime, snuggling, and tickling before the day is over.

Winding down

..as the number of days before Cole is no longer an only child wind down, we are trying to cram in as much fun as we can. Last weekend we went on a family outing to Annapolis, where Cole spent the entire day hunting for Captain Richard (a story for another blog post). This weekend we caught up with some friends of ours...twice...for a weekend full of fun. On Saturday, Cole and I began our day at the Farmer's Market. We then headed up to Bethesda to meet up with our friends Erin and Ella for an afternoon at the spray jets in downtown Silver Spring. Cole was disinterested in running through the water but he was a trooper at watching Ella play :) The two of them were so cute conversing about their Disney experiences like two big people.
In the evening, Craig, Cole and I threw together a picnic dinner and ate in down by the river. Cole wanted to bring the play-doh along and I figured what the heck...much easier to clean up the mess. It was actually a lot of fun. There is also a playground close to where we were sitting so Cole got to play for a little while with his dad.
On Sunday evening we met up with Erin, Ella and Carl for some fun at Gravelly point, where the planes come into National Airport. We love going there to watch the planes and it was even more fun to do it with good friends. Cole and Ella romped around and played with Cole's stomp rocket while the adults stuffed their faces :)

The littlest snitch

Cole has reached the age where I cannot tell him anything nor let him be a part of anything that shall remain a secret. When I asked whether he'd like to take cupcakes to Daddy at work for his birthday, of course he said yes, and then he told Craig! It's a good thing I did the present purchasing and dessert selection for tonight without him :)

Summer Adventures

Our final adventure of the summer took us to Ocean City to spend a few days at the beach with our friends Scott and Allison. Scott's aunt hooked us up with an awesome beach front condo, which was totally key with Cole in tow. The waves were a little rough for Cole to manage so we spent most of the time playing in the sand. I read a book and relaxed, hoping to capture one last image of the beach before the birth of baby #2 (a must for relaxing during labor sans drugs!). We also went to the boardwalk and Cole rode some of the kiddie rides. Another evening he was co-pilot to Craig during a go-cart ride. Of course, the highlight of that adventure was the trip to Candy Kitchen afterward where he picked lego shaped sweetarts and a candy necklace as treats.

Road Tripin'

What an adventure we just returned from! Tiff and I decided since we both had the summer off we would pack up the kids, sans husbands, and road trip to Michigan to visit our extended family. Surprisingly the kids handled the 10+ hour car trip very well and we arrived safely and in one piece to our destination outside of Detroit. We spent 3 days hanging out and letting the kids play with each other, which they did beatifully. We will miss all the playmates now that we are home. We also ventured to a spray park, a dairy farm (yummy ice cream) and attended Hannah's 2nd birthday party complete with pinata, pool, hot tub and marshmallow roasting by the fire pit. It was wonderful to see our family once again and we look forward to the next time that we can meet up.

Baby bumps

It somehow seems weird to take photos of just me and my belly bump so I asked Cole to join in and he happily obliged! I love this pic and will cherish it forever :) It's amazing to imagine that in 82 days our next little man will arrive. Cole has taken to my pregnancy better than I expected. I can't help but get a giggle out of his reaction to my ever increasing belly and inquiring how the baby is going to get out. He knows a doctor will do it (well actually a midwife but close enough) and that the baby will be messy when it arrives. He also thinks we should name the baby Clifford or Dumbo or something along those lines! The one thing that he has had difficulty with is my inability to hold him. He is a very loving little boy and likes to be held or carried places....both being difficult with a basketball attached to my front!

Just Beachy

We've had a busy end of June and early July, with Mommy and Daddy leaving Cole with Grandma and Pap while they attended Hollie and Sean's wedding in Dallas and then immediately after a trip to Virginia Beach to visit Scott and Allison for the Fourth of July. In his usual fashion, Cole took it all in stride and did amazingly well without us. I am also extremely happy and proud to announce that Cole is potty trained! We're working on the night time stuff right now but in most cases he wakes up dry. I just can't express how proud I am of him and how well he has done...now to get rid of the treats!

Happy Father's Day '09

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Every Father's Day we take a silly "impression" photo of our daddy. This year Cole actually wanted to wear Daddy's shoes and tie...but his expression wasn't nearly as cute as when i had to force him to do it. Happy Father's Day to all the "daddies" in our lives. To celebrate, we took our Daddy to see UP as our first family movie in the theater.

Mommy's too fat

....just thought I'd write a quickie for a "coleism" that I just loved! Today I was explaining to Cole that when the weather gets hot that we need to hurry and get him in his seat so that Mommy can get up to the front to put on the A/C as fast as possible (he is sooooo slow at not only getting in his seat but he doesn't help AT ALL with the straps or buckling). Sometimes, mostly when its raining, I will hop up to the front without getting out of the car (a real bonus to being a "small" person) but today Cole pointed out to me that, "Mommy is too fat to go to the front that way", as he pointed to the space between the front seats. Thanks pal for pointing that out...thanks!

Boot Camp

...potty training boot camp to be more specific. Yesterday Cole and I began what I hope to be the beginning of the end...of diapers! We had a couple of errands to run in the morning so the start of boot camp was to begin post naptime. One of our stops was Target to choose a prize for the end of the week, if and only if it proves to be a successful week. We also bought a book about going to the potty, some new improved treats (jelly beans weren't enticing enough anymore)and lastly, a potty timer. Who knew there was such a thing (there really isn't but Cole believed me). A good ole kitchen timer to count down the minutes when we HAD to try to go potty again. Our 1/2 day start was a good one with no accidents up to bedtime. Today is a different story. I am truly understanding that if there is no timer he will just pee (or worse) on himself. I know that its nonsense to think that we will get through the training exercise accident free but I know now why I've put this off for so long...it is no fun. Cole is already anti-timer, hiding it at every chance he gets, and he sat beside the potty today and did #2...BESIDE it! Why couldn't he have just moved over 12 inches and pulled down his pants? Shortly after that I decided to let him tell me when he had to go....accident again. Ugh!

Brothers

Our biggest news of the Spring didn't even make it to the blog yet! As most of you already know, Cole is going to be a big brother in October. Our family is anxiously (but patiently) awaiting the arrival of Baby Boy #2. Although slightly bummed that a little girl didn't complete our family this time around, I am thrilled that Cole will have a brother to play with, pick on, or otherwise torture for the rest of his life. But really....I know what the bond of sisters feels like and I can only imagine that brothers are no different and for that I am so thankful.

Birthday Boy

It's so hard to believe that 3 years ago today Cole came into our lives. Now that his big day is here, there will be one last celebration of the Big 3 with pizza and cake at Nanny's tonight but the real festivities were over the weekend with a pinata, cake, and unending presents with our family and friends. Leading up to his birthday, Cole would always say, "Mommy, this is going to be the best birthday ever". I just hope it was...for this year.

Say What?

Easter Egg Excitement

Cole couldn't wait for the official Easter Egg Hunt at Nanny's on Easter Day. We've been practicing for weeks now but the "real" day was finally here and Cole was prepared with basket in hand. The first excitement of the day was an Easter basket full of bouncing balls, marbles and oh yea, candy! The Easter Egg hunt began after our midday meal and the kids couldn't wait to hunt the over 200+ eggs that Maw-Maw filled and hid for them. What a great grandma!

My gifted child

On the way to Nanny's house we pass a major construction site, where Cole is always interested to see what the workers are up to. If they aren't on the job he wants to know why and if they are, he wants to know what they are doing. On this particular day, there were several men on the job site and most were gathered around the footings of what appears to be an upcoming sound wall. As usual Cole wanted to know what they were doing so I put it simply, "they are building a wall". He replied, "For Humpty Dumpty?" and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. I later shared this story with Cole's Aunty Tiffy and she said that his connection was very good and was a actually a sign of giftedness. I'm not sure where he's getting that from since I am more than positive that there is at least one (or more likely several) improper uses of English in this post as well as a non-existent word or two!

Growing Hearts

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and while that may be true, I have lately found that the more time I spend with our little man, the bigger my heart grows for him. I am so happy at the little person that he is turned into (not that there aren't bad days!) Here is a pic of our cutie at the St. Patty's Day festivities in Old Town. His favorite part of the parade were the dancing ladies :) (not those kind but the Irish dancing kind!)

Oh Man

Cole has really enjoyed playing trains recently. He loves, most of all, the battery operated Thomas and James engines that he received for Christmas. He loves to load them up and make them really work for their loads...today there was a little accident as he was helping one of them up the incline and he pushed a little too hard. "Oh man," he said. It's one of his favorite phrases right now so I was happy to capture it :)

Hockey Time

Cole, Craig, Scott, Allison and I all went to Cole's first hockey game on Sunday. We had lots of fun while Scott and Allison stayed for the weekend and we finally had a place for visitors to sleep...in Cole's big boy bed. Sadly for most of our crew, the Pens lost, but I was happy that the Caps won!

Happy Times....Sad Times

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Cole and I have been making the best of my layoff by scheduling lots of playdates and other activities at home. Play-doh and painting are our favorite pastimes. Beautiful weather has set in the last few days so we've headed outside to enjoy the 60 degree days. On the other end of the spectrum, we were very sad to say our goodbyes to our beloved family dog, Toni, last Friday night. Toni lived a long and happy life and I've loved her like no other dog. While it was a difficult decision for my dad to make, I am sure sure that Toni is in heaven with Nancy and they're having a grand ole' time.