Talking on the Phone

I can only imagine he is talking to customer service.

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Practicing Walking

Cole has been practicing walking!

Where Did The Year Go?

Cole turns one tomorrow.  I've been reflective the last two days and thinking of where I was this time last year.  Today at 12:30 PM I remembered my water breaking and how scared and nervous I was.  I thought about the call I made to Matt to tell him what had happened and to stop at the house and pack our bags.  And then I laughed at how we argued about where my deodorant was (he had already packed it).  I remember how excited Daulton was to sit with us in the hospital room and how he looked in every room we passed as we walked the halls trying to get labor going.  We shared flavored ice cups and neither of us cared for the sugar free jello.

At times this year has gone by so quickly and other times it feels like its taking forever.  Time seems slower at night when all I want to do is sleep but Cole either wants to hang out or snuggle.  It seems like just yesterday he was in newborn clothes and now he's busting out of his 12 months pajamas.

Cole is crawling everywhere and gets into EVERYTHING!  He shredded the toilet paper in my bathroom a few days ago and then tore it into tiny pieces.  His daily goals are to get into the laundry room and get the remote, both are off limits to him.  Cole got a hold of the remote at my sister's house and managed to record the news. 

Dixie is Cole's best friend at meal times.  He drops food for her and makes sure she gets a snack when he has his snack bowl.  She gives him kisses and Cole's learning to pet nicely.

Daulton continues to be the best big brother ever.  He is protective and is quick to respond when he's fussy.  They are starting to wrestle and Cole watches every move Daulton makes.  I am happy they have each other.

Time to go. Someone wants to snuggle. 

9 Months And On The Move

Cole turned 9 months in April and I have no idea where the time went.  I say that every month, but its true.

He started crawling a few weeks ago and is into everything!  His crawling style started out with one leg straight while the other leg and his arms did the crawling.  We called it the dead leg crawl as he was dragging that leg behind him.  But he's figured out how to use the other leg now and he's crawling much faster now.  He loves to go for cords, computers, and anything else he isn't supposed to have.  As a result, he's learning the word No and he's not a fan.

His personality is really starting to come out and its so fun to see the little person he is shaping up to be.  He can be very charming, when he wants to be, and loves to smile and interact with people when we go out.  He is demanding, and let's you know that he's not happy.  He is a hot mess when he gets too hungry and I think he inherited that from me.  He is starting to figure out how to chase and be chased, and loves to be tickled.

Cole enjoys bath time and has figured out how to splash.  He likes to splash in the water and is starting to make bigger messes with the water.  Its hard to believe this was the same kid who 7 months ago screamed bloody murder if you gave him a bath.  Cole has some new swimsuits to try out in the pool this summer.  I know his brother can't wait to take him.

He finally had his first tooth pop through this week.  He has three more that should show up soon.  I'm excited for his teeth to finally show up but it also makes me a little sad that he won't have his gummy smile anymore.  But that comes with the parenting territory.  You are happy for them when they reach each milestone but sad for the reminder they are growing up.

Double Digits

Daulton turned 10 last month and is officially in double digits.  I asked him on his birthday if he felt older and he said no, but a few days later I asked him again and he said he did feel older.  I guess it takes a few days for it to sink in that he is now 10.

In the weeks leading up to his birthday, I found myself thinking back to the first time I met Daulton.  I had met Matt through my roommate Alison and had heard he had a son.  Alison and her parents ran a youth puppet ministry and invited us out to watch their Easter performance.  Daulton was 3 at the time and like he is today, a mini Matt.  Midway through the performance, I looked down the row to see if he was enjoying the puppets.  What I found was Daulton staring directly at me and studying me.  Now I know he just likes to people watch, but another part of me wonders why he was staring at just me.  There were other strangers he could have stared at, but he picked me.

People have asked me how Daulton is doing with being a big brother.  There has never been a better big brother in the history of big brothers than Daulton.  He plays with Cole, helps with feedings, consoles him when he's upset, let's him play Xbox (he gives him the extra controller to play with), and he can't go by Cole without giving him a hug or kiss.  They are just as enamored with each other now as ever.

I've said it before and I will say it again, I hit the jackpot with Daulton.  He is my stepson and I will never be his mom, but he is the one who made me a mom.  He teaches me how to be patient and kind, even when I don't want to be.  He reminds me to share and to put others first.  He teaches me to see the good in people and to not overthink things.  He reminds me to be in the moment and to enjoy the now.  He is smart, funny, patient, and kind.  I could go on and on about how wonderful he is, but that would probably just embarrass him. 

I can't believe he is 10 and I am so grateful I get to be a part of his life!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Cole at 6 Months

I know I said it at 3 months, but I can't believe Cole is 6 months old and will be 7 months soon.  Cole is able to sit up on his own for a few minutes before falling over.  He's starting to babble more and will talk/yell at Dixie and Daulton if they aren't paying attention to him and really lets you know when he's hungry and isn't being fed enough (he gets that from me!).  He is pushing up but hasn't figured out how to get his knees under him to start crawling yet.  Cole can roll and scoot wherever he wants to go.

The biggest change we've seen at 6 months is he has started eating foods.  He loves applesauce, sweet potatoes, prunes, and bananas.  He is not a fan of green beans as you can see in the video below.  I know babies and kids need to try a food several times, so I tried giving him green beans again last night.  It did not go well.  I've never seen someone so mad about green beans.  As a kid I hated green beans and I can remember sitting alone at the dinner table crying because my parents made me finish my green beans.  I can see Cole repeating my past.

Despite the faces he's making, he does like bananas.

 

Activity Mat Time

Typical kid, you give him a toy and he would rather play with the box. For Cole, he would rather play with the tags on his activity mat than the actual activities on the mat.

Reindeer Games

Dixie is so happy to not have to wear the antlers this year.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Fun In The Snow

Daulton hit the jackpot with a snow day last Friday.  After spending the morning lounging around and drinking hot chocolate, he and Matt went outside to shovel snow.  Its amazing the difference a year makes!

Cole enjoyed his few minutes of being outside in the snow.  He looked all around and didn't seem to mind being bundled up like Ralphy from A Christmas Story in his snowsuit.

I know next year these two will be busy exploring in the snow together!