so. dramatic.

You ever have one of those moments when your child does something and you have NO IDEA how the heck they learned to do that?

We've had several of those around here.

Most recently, Cole's "fakey" cry.   You know, the cry that he makes when he's really not that upset, but just being dramatic?

Don't you just love the lip sucking in and out?  I'm not even exactly sure how he does it! 

Yup.  He's going to be onstage someday, just like his parents - little drama king of mine.

exploring

Cole is becoming more and more confident in his crawling ability - he's starting to crawl all over the living and explore and of course, has the uncanny ability to make a beeline for the most dangerous thing in the room (and not baby-proofed!).

Up until last Sunday, he was reluctant to leave the carpeted living room (it was kind of like a cattle guard situation - he wouldn't cross onto the linoleum!), but after much hesitation, he finally ventured into the kitchen to discover a whole new world of dangerous things (dog food, anyone?)! 

It has been amazing, although slightly nerve-racking at times, to watch Cole explore and discover all on his own.  He is thrilled to be mobile and finds fascination in every tiny object and loves exploring how his body moves.

Baby yoga, anyone?

wake-up call

Dear Cole,

This morning, you woke me up by punching me in the face.

Don't worry, I still love you.  But I liked the whole smiling sweetly thing a little better - think we could do that tomorrow instead?

Love, Mama

Best Friends

Cole and Chloe are truly best friends.  Nothing makes Cole laugh like Chloe does, and Chloe just adores playing with Cole (and his toys, which she seems to think belong to her):

Yup, these two are going to be buddies for a loonnnnggg time!

He'll sleep anywhere

Think I tired him out or something?

Dear Baby,

Dear Cole,

This morning, you woke up next to me in bed.  Your eyes locked on mine, and you gave me the biggest, happiest smile - so full of love.  You reached out your arms to me to be held, then clung to my shirt tightly as we did our morning routine of letting out the dogs and putting water on for tea.  As I sat down for our morning snuggles, you wrapped your chubby little fingers around my finger and stared at me intently as I talked to you, patting my face and beaming when I smiled at you and said, "I love you."

And even though you can't talk or fully understand when I talk to you, I knew this morning that both of us truly understood just how much we love each other. 

Sometimes, love isn't just in words.  Sometimes, it's not in big, grandiose gestures and meaningful events.  Sometimes, love is just an everyday morning, a simple routine, and few little moments - like a handful of chubby fingers holding tightly to mine.

Piano Man

Check out my mini piano man banging away on the piano:

I'm pretty sure he's the next Beethoven!

sooo messy!

My little man is MESSY.

yeah, he takes after his daddy like that. 

It's one of the hardest things for me as a parent, so far - I know how important it is for him to do things himself and explore and experiment...but it's SO MESSY!!!!!!!  and I have to clean up that mess!!!!

not my favorite thing to do.

Like look at mealtime:

And adding in the blueberries:

And of course, some baby train wreck:

But at least the look of intense pride on his face when he manages to feed himself makes me feel like his messiness isn't so bad!

reading

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how much Cole LOVES to read - one of my favorite things for us to do together is to sit and read a book.

You know it was a good nap when you wake up with hair like this:



Mini Fashionista (Fashionisto?)

Oh yes.  Your eyes do not deceive. 

That is my impossibly adorable son wearing an ORANGE PUFF VEST! 

Feel free to feast your eyes on his cuteness.

I am so amazed at how much improvement Cole has made on the crawling front in just two short days! Look at him go!

I know, he's a genius, huh?

Vote Please!

Dear readers, if you have a moment, would you please vote for us for Top Baby Blogs?  All you have to do is click the button on the right, then click VOTE!

Thanks so much!

Pumping by the numbers

6   Weeks spent breastfeeding

7  Months spent pumping

8-10  Times a day I pumped

2 am  Time at night I would get up to pump

800 Total number of hours spent pumping

426  Bags of milk in the freezer

1098349802375 Number of times I wished I could breastfeed

1 Number of healthy babies my breastmilk has nourished

And that last number is all that matters!

To my child...

I found this when going through some old papers and thought I would put it here:

Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.

Just for this morning, I will let you wake up softly, all rumpled in your sheets, and I will hold you until you are ready for the day.


Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say how perfect it is.


Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.


Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.


Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the back yard and blow bubbles.


Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.


Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.


Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.


Just for this afternoon, I will take you to McDonald's so you can play in the PlayPlace.


Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born, and how much I love you.


Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.


Just for the evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.


Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV show.


Just for this evening, when I run my fingers throught your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.


I will think about the mothers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and mothers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.


And when I kiss you goodnight, I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. 


It is then that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day.


-Unknown

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our little family!

Houston, we have a crawling baby!

Yup - Cole has learned to crawl! 

Babyproofing, here we come!

Who Loves You...

Happy Valentine's Day

~You are not the air that I breathe...you are the sweet scent that drifts upon it~  

~ You are not the sounds that I hear... you are the music of my life ~

~ You are not my will to survive... you are my reason for living ~

it's the little things

Cole simply adores strings on hoodie sweatshirts:

Cole and Grammy time

Cole sure loves his Grammy:

self-reliance

The older Cole gets, the more I realize and have the face the fact that there are not always "right" answers when it comes to parenting.  Some days, I think I have never felt more unsure about what I'm doing - "Is this the right thing to do?  I don't know what to do!"  is a conversation Chris and I have often. 

One of my most difficult parental tasks?  Knowing when to interfere when Cole is frustrated. 


I desperately want to raise a child who is self-confident, independent, capable, and determined.  I want Cole to be tenacious and even somewhat stubborn when it comes to attaining a goal.  I never want him to feel as though he can't do something.

But it hurts my heart to see him uncomfortable in any way - frustration included! 

When Cole is lying on the floor, crying because he is frustrated with not being able to crawl yet, the first thing my mama heart wants to do is to run to him, scoop him up, and make it all better. 

But my mama brain tells me differently.

It tells me that a little frustration is a good thing.  A few tears can be helpful.  Is anything worthwhile accomplished without a bit of frustration?  Failures, setbacks, and defeat are part of life.  How many times did Edison fail before succeeding in inventing the lightbulb?  How many times will Cole fall when learning to ride his bike, fail when taking a test, get turned down when trying out for a team? 

And, when there's a little bit of struggle, a little bit of frustration, how much more proud of himself will he be when he finally succeeds?  Challenges are good for us.

And what will Cole learn if Mama always swoops in to help, to assist, to make it all better?  He will learn to be dependent, not independent.  He will learn that he is not capable or able, that he will not succeed or "do it right".  He will learn that I don't have confidence in his abilities.

So when Cole struggles to roll over, crawl, to reach a toy, I will not "help" him.  I will not show him how to play with a toy or object.  I will not show him how to do a puzzle.  I will not limit his creativity or curiosity. I will not "help" him fix any problem he is capable of solving independently, even it it takes awhile.

And tomorrow, when he is struggling to crawl, I will cheer him on.  I will encourage him and tell him how I know he can do it.  I will validate that it's difficult and frustrating.  But I will not swoop in and rescue him, as hard as it might be to be patient and relax - his glorious, confidence-building result of accomplishing a task without my help will be well worth any discomfort!

Figueroa Farms

Look what I found at Bristol Farms grocery store:

Yup, it's Figueroa Olive Oil! So cool!

stick a tongue in it

This is Cole's newest trick:

Sticking out his tongue!!  He thinks it's hilarious and is so proud of himself!

Playtime

I've mentioned before about how much Cole and Chloe love each other - and Chloe just can't wait until Cole is mobile enough to play with her:

I have a feeling Chloe doesn't know what she's in for once Cole is crawling and chasing her!  It's going to be hysterical watching these two...stay tuned!

the best age

I held you as a snuggly, warm newborn, with eyes more closed than open, and tightly clenched fists.  Your legs were still frog-like, your arms moved jerkily around.  You were entirely dependent on your daddy and me, for your meals, for your bink, for warmth and safety.  And I thought this was the best age.

Then you became an infant - still warm and snuggly, but awake and interested.  You started smiling - a happier moment I just couldn't have imagined.  You became aware of us as your Mama and Daddy.  You began cooing and kicking.  And I thought this age was even better.

Then, you became a baby.  A babbling baby, who held his head up, stood with help, and even started to laugh.  As I lay on the floor to play with you, to read with you, I thought, "THIS has got to be the best age!"

But then, you became you.  You are sitting up, talking, playing, and almost crawling.  You have distinct likes and dislikes, interests and opinions.  You click your tongue and imitate words and always smile when I smile at you.  You reach your arms out to be held and you gaze with innate interest and curiousity at everything I do.  Even though you can't say the words yet, I can tell you love us.

And I'm absolutely positive that this is the best age.  How can it possibly get any better?

LOVE musicals

Yes, I freely admit: I adore musicals.  Name a musical, I can probably sing the majority of it.  Chances are, I may have even been in it at some point.  If there's ever a time when I just can't think of a kind of music I want to listen to, I always fall back on my old favs: "Les Mis", "Joseph", "Rent", "Evita". 

via

And poor Cole will probably grow up knowing all the words to them too!

LOVE Banana Republic

Ok, to be fair, I just love shopping in general. 


But I tend to gravitate toward the...shall we say higher end (read: expensive) stores in the mall: Ann Taylor, White House, Black Market, Nordstrom's...but none hold my heart as much as my dear Banana Republic.

via

Classic clothes in classic neutral colors... yes please! :)

But fortunately, I don't love Banana Republic enough to pay full price on anything... so I guess I love Banana Republic Outlets!

Just keep swimming...

We have a little water baby on our hands!  I have been dying to take Cole swimming since he just adores his bath, but the opportunity has just never presented itself.  So Chris suggested taking him for a dip in his parent's hot tub (don't worry, we lowered the temperature so it was just like bathwater).

I'm just not sure if he liked it or not:

I don't have a single picture of him without that ear-to-ear grin!  I have a feeling Grammy and Papa will have a little visitor in their hot tub pretty frequently!