Poor Boy

If you haven't noticed, it has been a while since I have posted anything. It's not because things have been boring around here, in fact it is quite the opposite! As previously mentioned, the poor lil man had Bronchialitis. He finally got the OK from the doc that he was over it, but shortly thereafter relapsed and it was beyond a nightmare. He was coughing nonstop, put on a nebulizer, and he HATED that thing. So, once he finally got better from that.... we had maybe 2 days of calm, and then the ear infection hit. He was put on his first round of antibiotics ever and took a few days to feel better but finally did. However, during those 2 weeks of sickness, he had no appetite and therefore, is now playing catchup, even in the middle of the night, he is hungry 24/7. It seems like we may now be in the clear of these chain reactions now.

Today it has snowed since we woke up and they are calling for up to 20 inches, Im sure it will not amount to that but its the biggest snow we have had in a LONG time. I guess that makes this Cole's real first big snow. We let him watch it out the window and he was mesmerized. We had a good snow day with him, we all ate breakfast, watched a movie, made christmas cookies and then more movies and dinner... It is so nice having time with Cole on the weekends. I barely get 2 hours in with him on days that I work. I never realized how hard it is to find a balance in life. But, I am happy, and so is my family and that is what counts the most.

Last night we started letting Cole learn to eat finger food, we started him on those melting little puffs and it blows my mind away that he immediately knew how to chew. It's not that I thought I would have to teach him, I just never thought about it at all. Babies are amazing, every day, in every way. :)

We took some festive pictures today :)

Christmas Fever

Cole really got a good dose of Christmas today. Oh, by the way , he is FINALLY feeling better. We took him to the doctor Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Friday. (doctor's orders). Finally he got a clean bill of health on Friday after many agonizing nebulizer treatments, I guess I wouldn't like someone shoving a fog machine mask over my face either.

So , now that Cole feels better, we took him to the mall, he saw all the great big trees and loved them. OH yeah, and he saw his FIRST snow today!!!!! He actually smiled really big when it started hitting his face while we were walking to the car. Then, Cole helped decorate his first Christmas tree :) He is just amazed with the lights and it is so much fun to watch him enjoy the festivities, which makes us enjoy them again like we did when we were kids. Aw, sweet sweet childhood bliss.

And now I would like to introduce a new segment...

Daddy's Corner:

Hello blog readers! Jenn asked me if I would like to add something to her post, and I feel that it is appropriate that I tell you, the reader, how wonderful it is being 1/3 of this family. Watching Colton grow each day is a joy that cannot be explained to those who have not experienced the ever changing world of a parent. Now that Colton is approaching the 7 month mark, Jenn and I have come to appreciate each movement forward in his development. Today, we began to notice his affinity for mimicking Mommy and Daddy's speech and actions. Although this behavior is generally relegated to 9 or 10 month olds, it is evident that our little boy is going to be a "brain over brawn" type of kid.

On another note, for those of you who have been following this blog, Jenn is a wonderful, caring and devoted mother. To accept the responsibilities of motherhood when it is completely unexpected is a feat within itself, but to rise up and conquer post partum depression in addition to the former, well, it brings tears to my eyes to tell you all how proud I am of my beautiful wife-to-be. She has shown herself to be a loving conquerer. Jenn as proven that she can face her own issues head on in order to give our family a loving, peaceful environment. She should be proud. Proud of her son. Proud of her job. Proud of herself and all that she has accomplished. I love you, Jenn, and I will be with you all the way

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Poor Man

Poor little guy has bronchialitis so we have been up all night with him for two nights and he is so needy and miserable and it breaks our hearts. He refuses to eat much and it's really rough to watch him suffer. We have to use the nebulizer on him, which he HATES. He screams and screams and it is the toughest thing to do that to him while he stares at you knowingly. Feel better soon love.

Christmas Pictures

Cole met Santa for the first time yesterday, he is spending a few days with Nana and Pap and they took him to get his Christmas portraits done as well as to see Santa!

Breathe, Stretch, REACH, let it go....

When you become a mother you are fully aware of the nightmares of messy diapers, endless crying and sleepless nights. However, nobody truly prepares you for the experience of reaching. Cole has now discovered reaching, which do not get me wrong, we noticed a few weeks ago and we are proud of him for accomplishing the reach and grab. At first we thought, "aw, how cute, he reaches for my hair, except ouch that hurts a bit, oh well, its cute". Then we thought, "aw how cute, he's trying to reach for our food".

Now our thoughts have turned into (don't forget, only two weeks later) "Cole, stop that, it hurts... no Cole, that's Mommy's dinner... Cole you really shouldn't be reaching for the steak knife, it could hurt you... Cole, Im trying to feed you, stop grabbing your spoon every time it comes close to your wide-opened mouth...."

Oh my.. what are we in for!?!?!?!? Cute, but dangerous.

Sippy Cup Colton

Last weekend we introduced the sippy cup, but to no avail. This week, cole started to get the hang of it :) Poor thing has a cold, again, and is on an inhaler but he is in good spirits!!!!

LOOK what I can DO!

On Saturday, Cole went to his very first guitar show- he actually seemed to have a very good time, he really loves music.

Yesterday when I got home from work I noticed this significant change in Cole. All the sudden, he is so much sturdier and stronger, I swear he wasn't this strong when I left for work in the AM. I put him down on the floor, and as always , I didnt expect anything. However, even though he could BARELY hold his upper half up a few days ago, he surprised me and got into crawling position! He doesnt crawl quite yet, but a new light has gone off in his head, you can see that in his eyes. He is ready to crawl and trying to figure out how, he even reaches for objects that are in front of him, so I know he will soon figure it out. He's adorable:

Picture Day

Yesterday was Cole's first school picture day (ALREADY!?!?) at daycare. I dressed him in an adorable outfit and can't wait to see how they turned out.

He has been very clingy to Scott and I lately.. uhoh, is he spoiled or just getting old enough to love us back?

The MANY Halloween Faces of Cole

Cole's first Halloween was a success and I know he is going to love the holiday every year. If you don't believe me, check out the first picture... or maybe he turned into a vampire? oh my Cole, I know that everyone is into vampires these days but you don't have to be a follower... hehe Just Kidding. Really though Cole, I hope that you are an individual that takes the best characteristics from everyone you learn from and combines them into one amazing character. With that said, Check out the many halloween faces of Cole:

PARADES

Last night we took Cole to the town's Halloween Parade. Cole was dressed up as a monkey. I will post pictures later. Today at daycare Cole got to be IN a parade, his first, Halloween parade! I can't wait for next year when Cole is a little older and able to enjoy the spirit of the season more.

Thankful Wakeful

So yeah I thought last week, wowwww Im so lucky, I didnt go through the 4 month wakeful... THEN all of the sudden..... Cole decides he'd rather play and cry because nobody is playing with him than sleep. OH yeah I forgot to mention that this is on the night before my busiest day of the month at work... where I have to go in hours early and work late......Sooooo uhm thats what I get for thinking I skipped a parenting nightmare.

SO WORTH IT

MAMA

In the past few days, all the sudden, when Cole whines and fusses it comes out in the form of "ummm maaammma mama maahhmma" and I LOVE IT because I can pretend he is calling me Mamma! Oh, he even makes the sound sometimes when he's just babbling, and thats even better! :)

PUMPKIN

We got Coley his first Pumpkin and then dressed him like a Pumpkin- Happy Halloween Everyone! :)

Jas and Coley and Such

On Monday, my camera broke. On Tuesday I went out and immediately bought a new one because I refuse to take the risk of possibly missing any moments in Cole's life that I want to hold on to and be able to look back and cherish.

Cole started on Peaches this morning, he didn't seem to like them as much as bananas and pears. Next I think we will do carrots, I am very curious to see if he will like those!

Today, Daddy is at work, so Cole and I are having another day together. Right now he is taking a nap in his crib and I thought while he napped I would get some stuff done but honestly, I love watching him sleep so much. At night, he falls asleep in my arms and it is extremely hard to put him down for the night in his crib. His face is so peaceful and darling while he is sleeping. Everyone says that having a kid is the hardest, yet best thing that ever happens to you. It is the most cliche, yet true, sentence I have ever heard. It is so much work to get through just a single day successfully with a baby. However, at the end of the day, when you stare at their precious face and smile, and then they smile back, it is the biggest reward that could ever be imagined. I have accomplished a good deal in my life, at least in my eyes, I ran several associations, created and hosted a phenomenal community service project, even made a short film, I graduated college with highest honors, got the exact job I worked to get, received several awards, yet none of this, even combined, could compare to the accomplishment felt when Cole shows signs of his love for me.

Later today we are going to go work on special christmas presents for Cole's grandparents from Cole, but I can't say much more than that because they read this! I am so excited.

Cole LOVES Jasmine- Whenever he sees her his eyes light up and get so big. He loves to pet her and I think she is finally warming up to him as well. She only likes him for short periods of time but thats so much better than how she was when we first brought him home! Let's see the comparison

THEN:

NOW:

5 MONTHS

On Friday, Cole turned 5 months old. It's so hard to believe that he is already and only 5 months. On one hand, it seems like I just gave birth to him but in other ways it seems like I have known him forever. Time seems to go faster and faster the older you get. I remember feeling like time was speeding by while I was in college but now it seems like its on double fast forward. I keep having to remind myself to cherish every moment with Cole because the moments pass quickly. I love the age he is at, though, even though he is bigger , he is still just as cute and cuddly. However, now he is more interactive and really starting to develop his personality. He is stubborn, yet silly, goes from zero to hungry in a second, and loves attention- which reminds me of me, scott, aunt amy and uncle josh all mixed in one- isn't that amazing! Happy 5 months my baby boy- :)

Cole and his friend Aspen-

LETS GO PHILLIES

mommy buddy day

Today is a Mommy and Coley day- I have off work so we are just hanging out together all day and he's delightful! He ate some nanners this morning and before that he slept til 745 and then he took about an hour nap while I cleaned. I wish every day could be like today! Right now Coley is playing in his island - it's so fun to watch him, he actually plays with the toys on there now and he loves playing with his rattles and links- he throws them across the room! When we were at Nana's this weekend, he was in an old-school walker on the kitchen floor and actually was walking in it - he got SOOO tickled, I regret that I do not have it on video!



I have some new pics!

Nana bought Cole a new paci- its too funny:



Big boy sitting up again




One of my fav pics so far- Pap put headphones on Cole and he LOVED listening to the music, plus looks majorly adorable:

Roley Poley Coley AGAIN!

Today I was hanging out with Cole watching him play and he rolled from his back to his side but got stuck on his side because his toy was in the way. I moved his toy and he rolled further onto his belly! Good job baby boy. So then I grabbed the camera and this is what I got (he got stuck on his toy again so didn't make it to his belly on camera:

Saturday

Cole's Nana and Pap came to visit him today. We took him shopping and to dinner and he was a great baby in public all day. Except , he didn't nap much, so at the end of the day he was mr. fussy pants. It's so amazing to see him smile, it's my favorite thing in the whole world , which sounds very cliche but its truer than I can convey.

Update on sitting, he can sit by himself for a very long time now.. but I still wouldn't leave him sitting up unattended.. after a few minutes he tends to get tired and fall in one direction or another.

We started to feed him sweet potatoes today. He loves them, he doesn't really seem to like the taste of the canned bananas but he does like fresh bananas. As for squash, that was second to introduce and it seems to be hit or miss depending on his mood!

I am so amazed every day at the love I have for Cole .. especially after struggling with postpartum depression. When you are going through PPD, you can't even IMAGINE feeling the feelings that I now have. I'm so grateful to overcome this and have overwhelming love for my son.

Here are some recent pics:



Cole passed out on his Pap






Cole's first ride in the big boy part of the stroller- he looks so bad a$$!



We wanted to take fall pics with a pumpkin but all we could find was a watermelon:

Tongue Found

Cole found out that he has control over his tongue and he hasn't stopped sticking it out at everyone for two days now! It's adorable!

Daddy

Today Cole has decided that he is daddy's lil man. He cried visibly for his daddy for the first time! Every time Scott would give him to me or walk out of the room, Cole would whine until I took him to where Scott was or gave him back to Scott. It sucked for me but was still so cute to see the son and father bond starting to emerge. I know it's tough for a father in the first few months because of the mother/child dynamic. I just hope that Cole and I's bond continues to grow as he gets closer to daddy too.

Video Collage

I made a collage of a few recent videos of Cole. He is doing much better with solids and even plays with his food- which is hilarious. We started squash yesterday and he seems to actually like that better than the bananas. I must say that I love every smile that crosses his face. He is a very serious baby, but his smiles make my heart warm. Cole is officially in size 3 diapers as of last week too.. thats sad, he's growing so fast. He's really close to rolling over and sitting up on his own too. He can sit on his own for a few seconds even, sometimes a few minutes. He has this cute little security puppy blanket/stuffed animal. This morning, Cole and I took a 2 hour nap together on the couch and it was my favorite part of the past week- I loved waking up and seeing his peaceful baby face next to me!

HALLOWEEN IS COMING

and I found the perfect costume...