Dear Baby,

Dear Cole,

In the past week, you have outgrown your carseat, your bathtub, half of your clothes, and went up a size on your diapers.

It's just a wee bit too much growing for your poor mama to handle.  You see, usually I can bury my head in the sand and pretend you aren't growing.  I can imagine that you'll stay my sweet, tiny little baby mister forever.  But then you go and throw it all my face, like you're saying, "I'M GETTING BIGGER!!!  I'M GROWING UP AND I'LL BE THIRTY BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!"

Well, maybe not thirty.  Maybe just one.  Because, we all know THAT huge milestone is sneaking up too. 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, please stop growing.  Thanks very much.

Love, Mama

Co-sleeping

I never wanted to co-sleep with my babies.

Let's face it, I'm human.  I love my little mister and everything, but I needed time with just my hubby.  Alone time.  Not to mention that sleeping with a baby involves trying NOT to roll over and squish it, so it's hard to really sleep deeply.

But some days Cole seems to have other ideas.

I don't blame him.  I'm a snuggler myself.  I adore cuddling up to Chris and putting my cold feet on his warm ones.  And since Cole was INSIDE me for nine whole months, I can understand how he'd want to be near his mama as much as possible.

But I NEED MY SLEEP!

So we've come to an arrangement.  Nights are spent sleeping and snuggling - just the hubs and me.  But when Cole wakes up in the morning (usually between 4 and 5 am), one of us goes to get him and brings him into our (very small) bed.  Chris opens up the covers for him to snuggle under, and I creep in, and we make a warm little Cole sandwich and all fall asleep together.

There's nothing more perfect than waking up and seeing the peacefully sleeping faces of my boys across from mine, with Chris' arm thrown protectively over Cole's little body.  And Cole's bright starry smile peeking out at me...

Well, let's just say I think I get the best of both worlds.

Wouldn't you agree?

Standing

Cole is so excited to be standing, he uses anything and everything he can to stand up.  Including Chloe.

It's a good thing she loves Cole so much - she sure puts up with a lot!

Soooo proud!

I can't believe it was just a month ago that Cole started crawling.  Now, he's crawling toward anything that will (and sometimes things that won't!) hold his weight so he can pull himself up to standing.  He's spending more time standing than anything else right now - and is always soooo proud of himself when he gets up there! 

Just look at that happy baby grin!

Parenting

I received a compliment the other day from a friend that quite possibly might be the best compliment I could have hoped for as a parent.

She said, "Wow...you really put a lot of effort into parenting, don't you?"

Perhaps she didn't mean it as a compliment.

But you know what?  I DO put a lot of effort into my parenting.  To me, parenting is a job.  Not just any job, but THE MOST important job I will ever have.  Why SHOULDN'T I put forth a lot of effort?  The best effort?

I remember getting my first subscription to "Parents" magazine when I was 15.  Why? Because I wanted to learn how to become a good parent.  I don't believe anyone is born simply knowing how to parent.  I think it's incredibly important to know the latest research that's out there for parents  There's nothing that irritates me more than a parent who simply parents without thought or research. 

You wouldn't want a doctor to become a doctor without years of schooling, right?  Or a teacher to become a teacher without a degree?  So why should parenting, an even more important job, have any lower expectations or standards?

So yes, almost any free time day or night, you will find me researching parenting websites.  Examining theories and research.  Discussing on message boards best ways to discipline.  Because this is the most important job I will ever have, and it's worth the time and research to do the best job I can.

Pounce!

This is the face Cole makes right before he pounces on your head:

Nala and Cole

Poor Nala hasn't gotten much face time around these parts lately.  While she's EXTREMELY tolerant of Cole and his exploring (read: fur pulling) fingers, she's not exactly his number one fan.  And since I'm Cole's number one fan, most of the pages of this blog are devoted to him.

But since Cole's become mobile, Nala's had to stretch her patience with him just a wee bit more:

Fortunately, we have the BEST DOGS EVER who understand that Cole loves them and the way he best shows love is by pulling hair (or fur). 

Spring Fever

We're getting some Spring Fever round these parts lately. Cole's dying to go outside and play:

He's spending about an hour every day glued to the back patio door, gazing longingly outside.  I think someone needs to send a memo to the weather that it's officially SPRING now - time to stop snowing so my baby can go outside and play!

Offical De-Lurking Day...or, Come Say Hello!

What?


Today is March 19?


MY BIRTHDAY?!!

(We're not going to discuss how old I am, thankyouverymuch.  Let's just say I'm still in my twenties, thank goodness!)

So in honor of my birthday, there will be no post today.  Instead, I would like to declare an official DE-LURKING DAY!!

That's right.  I'm talking to you.  The person who comes to check out my pearls of wisdom (or actually my ADORABLE son).  The one who reads but isn't sure if he/she should comment. I know I do it - I think, "Umm, would this person think I'm a total wackjob for reading their blog when I don't even know them?"

YOU GUYS!  I have a public blog!  I heart comments!  I love to know that someone actually READS all the drivel I type all the time! 

So come say hello.  Leave me a comment about anything you want.  Become a public follower. 

We'll probably end up life-long best friends if you do! :)

Need a laugh today?

I dare you not to laugh at this video:

Babies are so hysterical!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We had a delightful, green-filled day in the Figueroa household.  Cole showed his support for the Irish, of course:

And did some Irish dancing to "Riverdance":

And even had all (almost) green food today: kiwi with breakfast, avocado with lunch, and peas and green beans with dinner:

We had the traditional Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage, with smashed potatoes and this for dessert:

May the luck o' the Irish be with you! (or is that May the Force be with you?) Whatever it is, Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Bend

We took a quickie trip up to Bend for a job interview for Chris earlier this week.  Having only been to Bend once before, it was awesome to check it out and I am officially a fan.

The heart clinic that interviewed Chris generously put us up in a VERY swanky hotel, The Oxford Hotel.  We're talking valet parking, concierge service, room service, a pillow menu (yes, a menu of various types of pillows you could choose!) - it was incredible!  And to top it all off, the room was completely baby-proofed, so we had no worries letting Cole crawl around at top speed:

 Yeah, you see how the picture is blurry?  Cole moves so fast now and never holds still, so he's a constant blur!

The room:

And one of the coolest things was how "green" (environmentally friendly, not the color) everything was.  Organic and locally grown for everything you could think of!  Dual flush toilets, low-flow faucets, bamboo sheets and towels - and my favorite:

This is my dream - next to every garbage can, to have a recycling can as well.  Then people would have NO excuse not to recycle everything possible!

Cole's favorite part was the BIG bathtub (and having Daddy take a bath with him!):

It was an awesome night away from home and much-needed mini-vacation!

Why so curious?

LOVE:

One of my favorite things about this age is how curious and interested Cole is absolutely EVERYTHING.  Doesn't matter how many hundreds of times he may have examined every square millimeter of some random object, he still is just fascinated as if he saw it for the first time.  Some of his favorite objects to examine? His spoon, any brush, a disposable diaper, CELL PHONES, and his bottle. 

Another favorite?  Faces. 

Sometimes I just cannot believe this perfect adorable boy is my son!

He has my eyes

My mom and I have what my family call "smiley eyes".  Our eyes squint up when we smile.

He has my eyes! :)

Dog Dish Delight

A portrait of my son's stubborness, curiousity, and single-mindedness:

We have two dishes of dog food in our kitchen.  Now, the kitchen and living room are pretty well baby-proofed, with the ONLY exception being the dog food.  And just about every.single.time we put Cole down to crawl, guess where he makes a beeline for?

Nope, not the lead-free, organic, BPA free, free trade wooden toy.  OF COURSE NOT!  That would be too easy, people! 

No, he goes straight in power crawl (laughing delightedly with himself the whole way, I might add) to the dog food.  The choking hazard in a dish.

Oh, and there's a water bowl there too.  Yup, a drowing hazard.  Also a dumping hazard, as we discovered earlier this week (AFTER Mama had already mopped for the day...it was hysterical).

Can someone tell me what is so fascinating with dog food?

And it's not even just the food part, although I believe that's the icing on the cake. (Choking and drowning hazards seem to be Cole's favorite activities.  Just throw in the possibility of electrical shock and it would be his FAVORITE THING TO DO EVER).  He made a beeline for the dog dishes this afternoon, even though they were empty, and played with them for half an hour.

So I thought, maybe he likes bowls?  So I gave him bowls to play with (with a whisk!  Cole ADORES whisks!).

Nope, straight back to the dog dishes.

Ok, maybe it's because the dog bowls are metal and shiny and make a cool (LOUD) banging noise.

So I gave him some metal pots to play with (with lids to make EVEN MORE LOUD NOISE!). 

And, he went right back to the dog dishes.

I guess I just have to face the fact that my son likes to play with dog dishes.  At least he's easily entertained.

And what the heck, my dogs need to go on a diet anyway.

Priceless!

Why I love being a stay-at-home mama-

If I had been at work today, I would have missed this:

Priceless!

cute little clothes

If you've spent any time with me at all, you know that I have a small obsession with baby clothes.

Just ask the seven 18 gallon Rubbermaid tubs full of baby clothes in my garage.

You just think I'm joking.

I simply adore buying Cole clothes.  Cute little baby jeans?  Yup.  Adorable cotton sweaters from Gymboree? My favorite.  Anything from Janie and Jack? You betcha.  And hats.  And bibs.  And especially socks.

Yup, this is the best-dressed little baby west of the Mississippi.  But I have to admit, it's a good thing he wasn't a girl - I think it's best to break Chris into the whole tons-of-clothes thing gradually!