Baby Fever

Cole cracked Derek and I up today. We were eating at Costco and he saw a really cute baby who was about nine months old. Cole informed us that he "wanted to take the baby home." I told him that her mommy and daddy loved her and would miss her and he told us that he loved her too! He said "I want a brother and a sister just like her." I told him he would be getting a brother in March and he said, "I want a brother in March and a sister in July!" Cole is so looking forward to having a little playmate, but hopefully he won't be disappointed that the baby won't really do anything for months. . Sometimes I feel really guilty that Cole doesn't have a sibling yet I especially felt that way last night when we watched "baby" Caden for a few hours. Caden is Cole's "bestest buddy" and he loves playing with him so much. Caden is eighteen months now and he is the cutest, most good natured little guy.They had so much fun playing together, and they even put on a syncronized performance to Dancing with the Stars.
It was adorable! Cole was so sad when I told him that Mitch and Lexie were coming to get Caden, he decided that he was going to hide him. We kept the lookout and they hid behind the couch. It was a really fun night.

I can do it myself!

Cole has adopted the three year old motto of "I can do it myself." He insists on trying everything from pushing the shopping cart to buckling his seatbelt completely by himself, not always successfully. This does come in handy when it comes to housework. This age is so wonderful because he thinks the most mundane chore is exciting. Last week I bought some new sponges in bright colors, and he was so excited to try the different colors and help me scrub the baseboards. A new swiffer duster is an amazing toy that keeps him quite entertained. Today I bought a cheap, light vaccuum from Walmart, and he was so excited to clean his rug by himself. We'll see how long this lasts, but for now I will exploit the free child labor:)

I did it!!

Cole totally amazed me today and passed the intermediate survival level in swim lessons. I was not even prepared with my camera, so unlike me, because I thought this would not happen for months. Since he passed the beginning level last month, he has cried from the moment he wakes up on swim lesson day until he gets into the pool. It broke my heart and I was contemplating just quitting. He would lay on his bed and just sob because he was scared. He even had a screaming breakdown two weeks ago when it was time to get into the pool. He just had this terrible anxiety about jumping into the pool, which is a major part of this level. He even took to making up silly excuses for not jumping in, like last week he faked a cough and said he couldn't jump in because he had a cough in his throat. I guess today everything just clicked because he just jumped right in and turned around and swam to the side, and then when it was time he jumped in and went right over to "airplane" and just floated. After the drama of the last month, I was so proud of him I almost cried, pregnancy hormones wrecking havock. Now he is a Bronze Jr, and the goal is to teach him to swim the length of the pool by himself, and he will have to pass it off totally clothed. I was so proud of my little guy today!

New Pics

Today I finally got around to having Cole's pictures taken. I know I take a million on my own, but haven't had them done professionally since 18 months, slacker mom. We went to Portrait Innovations again, and I was really happy with them. The photographer was so good with kids, Cole was cracking up the entire time. Cole wasn't having a very good hair day;), but I think they turned out cute. He made a new best friend with a little girl there, and was so sad when we had to leave. Cole had such a good experience there; I know he is going to be excited to go again!

Poor Cody

Our one-year old golden retriever Cody is one of the sweetest dogs ever. He has been so easy, practically potty training himself and he has never chewed up anything. Like any golden retriever he is so loyal and lives for affection; I can't take a step anywhere without him right next to me. He has really itchy, sensitive skin, and lately he has developed the vice of licking and chewing on his legs until they have raw patches on him. Today I had the bright idea of getting a collar for him to keep him from licking; I did not realize how traumatic that would be. I have never seen a more depressed dog. He couldn't really walk anywhere without bumping into the walls or furniture and couldn't fit out the doggy door, so he resorted to laying on the floor with his head down. He would not get up for anything, it was such a sad sight. I think the moment I took that collar of was the happiest moment in Cody's life; to say he was excited would be an understatement. I think it would have worked, but I felt like I was commiting dog abuse!

Baby Carlos

Well, according to Cole we have another baby Carlos in the family, but Cole says he is still naming his baby brother Carlos. Today at grandma's house we were suprised with another little batch of baby chicks.
They are still in their cute, fluffy stage and oh so adorable. Cole managed to catch one unlucky little chick, who is now named Carlos, and gave him the complete tour of grandma's house. He tried to hold it so gently, but I think little Carlos had quite a bumpy ride. Cole was so sweet, holding it up to his face and saying "It's ok babes, I have you." I don't think that reassured the chick any, and after a while little Carlos just gave up and layed on his back in Cole's hands. Cole showed the chick around grandma's house and he played Carlos a little concert on the piano. Cole said he loved him so much; I don't think Carlos returns the sentiment!

Hall of Flames Museum

Today Cole had his first preschool fieldtrip to the Hall of Flames Museum. He now says "It was awesome", but he was a little grump most of the time. He was really excited to go, but it was a bit of a let-down. The museum was so hot and not really catered to three-year olds, but I think he enjoyed parts of it. Caden came too and enjoyed riding on the old firetruck. They learned about firesafety, they tried on fireman clothes and they played on an antique firetruck. It was fun for me to see all of his little friends from school, especially the ones that he always talks about. He was so excited to see his best little buddy Jude and it was cute to see them walk around together and play like little buds. He's growing up too fast!

It's a . . .!

Well word is out, we are expecting our second little edition in the spring around 3/5/09. I am fifteen weeks now, and I'm starting to feel a lot better, boy weeks 8-12 were tough; I just felt like I was hit by a bus all day, but hopefully that is long behind me. I told everyone at work on Friday, and I lucked out with a sneek peek U/S. It was still too early to be absolutely certain, but there is no denying the obvious little boy parts. It is so amazing how fast they grow, he already looked so much bigger than the 12wk u/s, and it was amazing to see him moving around so much. He even tried to practice his breathing movements a few times, little overachiever. We are so excited to welcome another little boy into our home, now I am definitely outnumbered. Cole always said he was having a brother because he is a boy, and he was right, except he is not so right about the baby's name. Derek asked him what we should name the baby and he quickly blurted out "Carlos". Definitely not the name for us, but Cole is still telling everyone that name. Boy names are so hard; we went through the whole book, skipping 'C', and only came up with 3 or 4 possibles. We had to skip 'c' because we would never hear the end of it from my family. I think every child born in the past 10yrs has a 'c' name, so that narrows our options. Derek is so excited, the minute he found out he started reading all of our pregnancy and baby books again. His favorite is "From Conception to Birth," and has followed the baby's growth from the very beginning, pretty sweet. It is so wierd, I have been through this all before, but it still doesn't seem real. I just can't wait to hold our new little guy, but in the meantime I am excited to begin my absolute favorite part of preparing for a baby-decorating the nursery. Luckily I have all the furniture, so I just need to decide on a new color scheme and get to work. Now the fun begins!!

Game Time

Cole is really loving board games right now, and his latest favorite is Sequence, where the object is to get four chips in a row. It seems as if he can play that game forever and never get board. Derek completely cracks me up when he is home and plays with us. His competitive side shines through while playing board games with a three year old. He thinks out his strategy with every play, and is totally determined to win, even though he has yet to win a game. He seems to think that I deal myself the good cards, and he has taken to shuffling them himself. It is so funny to see his determination to win, and then his total shock when Cole or I end up winning. I think we should let him win a game soon so he doesn't quit playing with us!!

The Masterpiece

Cole found my bin of Valentine's Day cake pans and sprinkles on Friday and was so excited to make a cake. I had to work Friday night, so I reluctantly left the task in the hands of Derek. I was expecting to come home to an absolute disaster, but I was suprised Saturday morning with a cute cake and a clean kitchen. I think the cake is going to be a tad bit crunchy because it is completely covered in sprinkles; Cole definitely had a blast. This was Dereks first cake, and he actually admitted that baking can be fun. Look out Lexie, he may challenge you to a bake off soon!

Garage Sale Finds

So anyone who knows my mom knows that she is a garage sale fanatic. She has gone "garage saleing" every Friday for probably the past 20yrs, and she finds the greatest finds for the cheapest prices. I think every toy in their toy room has come from a garage sale, and it is packed to the brim. Lately she has found the cutest toys, so I have decided that I should take up the sport! Today Cole and I went garage saleing together, and found some great stuff. We didn't find as many toys as I expected, but Cole did find an animal alphabet puzzle at our first stop, and he was so excited after that to go home and play. We did have to do a few "drive bys"; it is amazing sometimes at the junk that people try to sell. I was so excited to find a designer having a garage sale and I bought four lamps new in package for $20. I was pretty excited because I was just looking for new bedside lamps yesterday at the store, and these will be absolutely perfect and a fraction of the cost. Cole is already getting an eye for the bright garage sale signs and seemed to enjoy the hunt! I think a new Friday morning tradition has been born.

Little Tumbler

Today Cole had his first tumbling class and he absolutely loved it. He has been checking out the tumbling area at SwimKids for a few months now, and he was so excited to take his first class. I was so proud of him, he listened so well to the teacher and is a pretty athletic little guy. They started out doing stretches, which was pretty cute, and then he took turns with the two other kids on the equipment. He worked on forward and backward summersaults, doing various different walks down the mat, walking on the beam, pulling up on the poles, and doing flips on the rings. I couldn't believe that he did a flip holding on to the rings all by himself. He had tumbling for thirty minutes and then he had swim lessons for another thirty, which made for one exhausted boy.