sleep regression

Oh, the terms I've learned in the past 20 months!

Cole hasn't been the best sleeper, but we did get a brief glimpse of what it was like to have a baby who slept through the night. For the past two and half months though (which happened to coincide with a ridiculously busy time at work -- it's just a phase, right? the work thing.), he's been waking up during the night and nothing seems to console him for about twenty minutes or so. Also, he only wants me. Lucky. He'll want "out" of his room, pointing from one room to the next of where he wants to be which is anywhere different from where we're currently standing. "Milk.No milk. More milk." He's fickle. "Elmo. Gabba. No." I did just post how cute baby talk was, right? I forgot to qualify that with "during the day when we're not sleeping." In addition to the comforting words like, "You're okay" or "It's night night time", "You're delirious" is another sweet nothing I pat him back to sleep with.

We felt bad for the little guy because during the time, he had four teeth come in and two rounds of ear infections. Once we were out of the woods for both, we went back to sleep training which bought us about a week. This week, we're back to wailing around 11:30. At first I thought it was another ear infection -- they were red this weekend when we took him to get checked -- but since he's been waking up at the same time for three nights now, I think something else is up. So, tonight he and I stuck it out in his room. He screamed while sitting next to the bed holding his milk cup in one hand with his blankie pinned against his body with his elbow while reaching out and grabbing my arm to get me up and "out" with his other hand. Door's closed, Buddy. We're in it for the long haul. After 20 minutes or so, he and I came to understanding that he wanted "more milk" (even though he hadn't finished drinking his milk). Once I agreed to get it, he agreed to lay down in bed to wait for me to come back with the goods. Do I have a lawyer in the making? A few sips later, he was out. I'm still up with the ears ringing from the screams. joy.

It's just a phase, right?

He's still the best kid ever!

yewoh

There's something about baby talk that is just so darn cute. Today, he expanded his color vocabulary with "yewoh". Earlier in the day, he said "banana" -- his first three syllable word. What a coincidence that the words are related. But the prize goes to his early morning request after finishing his milk, "I want more, please." Brian and I have learned something new practically every day about what our little one understands and can recite. We're thrilled and usually look at each other and say, "whoa" in amazement. In this picture, Cole wanted to "see! see!" the preview screen on the camera in my hand. I told him that there was nothing to see and that he had to "stand over there" so that I could take his picture to "see". He took a few steps away from me, turned around and said, "cheese." (whoa.) So cute though, right?

blue and two

This morning, Cole got the dvd in the Xbox to play. A coincidence of random buttons being pushed by a toddler? Maybe, but I couldn't figure it out with Brian showing me how to do it. Proud dad (Happy Father's Day!) sat next to his son later that day and asked, "Do you remember the sequence?" Thoughts of Cole searching the internet, or whatever the medium will be in his time, for cheats and maps for video games popped in my head. He checked out the controller a little bit then said, "blue", as he pointed to the blue button. This is big stuff, you guys. During story time this evening, he followed my cadence and said, "two" for every number I counted out loud of the fruits The Very Hungry Caterpillar ate that week. Wowzers! This kid is a super genius in the making.

le bebe wordle

Life gets busy, but I always find time in the day to slow down to spend time with le bebe.

happy turkey

Ah, we're catching our breath this holiday weekend with no plans and four days of doing whatever comes to mind. Correction, I had one thing planned -- having an untraditional Thanksgiving meal at a nearby brewpub. Unfortunately, it was closed for the holiday and will have to happen another day.

After a series of failed attempts to do other stuff around town which were also closed due to the holiday, we headed home and prepared what ended up being a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner, from the roasted bird to Brian's marshmallow delight. We also had a very special holiday character gobbling around the house -- our very own turkey!

one year old

What a wonderful journey it's been to reach this milestone!

It doesn't seem that long ago when I approached Brian with a dumbfounded look on my face (so he says!) to let him know that I was pregnant. Since then, we've had new experiences every month.

This past month, Cole has become very mobile. He's not quite walking, but if he has something to hold onto, he's off. Three days after his birthday he stood up on his own in the middle of the room. Not quite sure of what he just accomplished, he sat down and did it again right away. This time, he looked straight at me with a huge smile.

I love that he wiggles his little body whenever he hears any kind of music -- from his toys, commercials, one of us humming...oh, and he hums to himself -- or if you simply ask him to dance. He's a pro with his tambourine and maracas and can turn anything into a drum (even his dad's belly!).

Two days ago, Cole discovered how to nod "yes". He also learned how to spit out food he doesn't like. Coupled with a raspberry, each meal time now requires a thorough wipe down of our entire table. And who taught Cole how to tickle mom!?!

It's all really too cute for words! Thank you, Cole, for such a wonderful year. You are my sunshine. Happy Birthday!

treats and treats

Halloween is the last of Cole's "First" holidays since our baby boy will soon turn one.

We started our holiday weekend carving pumpkins. Our carving ambitions were high, but quickly turned to tried and true jack-o-lanterns when the little spinny wheel in our carving set didn't quite follow the outline of our designs. Our Halloween day started off with a spooktacular breakfast! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Cole helped measure out the ingredients for our pumpkin pecan pancakes. They turned out yummy! Even Grandma enjoyed them and she's not a pumpkin fan. After naptime, we headed out for a photographer's studio to capture this last first. We just got the proofs today, but they've got nothing on the classic shot we captured at home when his costume arrived in the mail. Surprisingly since then, he's tolerated the headpiece and we were able to take our little monkey trick or treating at the neighbors'. Here's a pic of him ready for his first treat with a very friendly witch, Maryann. At our last neighbor's house, one of the kids pulled a fast one on Brian and trick or treated out of Cole's bag and took my Now & Later! hmph. At least he didn't get the Smarties. We'll have to keep the goodies away from Cole especially since he now has seven teeth!

Cole shares the next "First" with many of you...watching the Giants win the World Series! Congrats, Giants!