Apple induced euphoria

Lately, we've been trying to give Cole more, er, freedom when it comes to mealtime to encourage him to feed himself. He has really taken to apples and so we let him gnaw on ours once we've eaten them down to a more manageable size. In the picture below, Cole is really showing his appreciation for the apple he was able to munch on at lunch... and he's also showing off his 7 chompers! The second photo is the extremely messy result of letting Cole try to feed himself prunes with a spoon... yowza!

Double Trouble

This afternoon I was watching our friends' son Jack for a few hours while they enjoyed a movie and, wow, was it tiring to try to monitor TWO little boys at once. I don't know how Mark's parents managed with 3 wiley little boys... bravo!

Jack is 2 months younger than Cole and is already crawling all about-

they play really well together (and also attend the same daycare) and it was a treat to watch them interact with one another all afternoon. Cole is starting to become possessive (of time in his mama's lap, of his own toys, etc) and so it was a good opportunity to teach him about sharing- I can tell you right now he's not to happy with the concept!

Mark was supposed to be home from work by 4:00 to help out but was stuck on 80 for 3 hours due to bad weather and an over-turned semi and so I had to brave it alone...

Here are a few pics of them playing with Cole's new Leap Frog music table...

Note that Cole is looking stunned in most of these pictures (what, I have to share my new Christmas toy?!) :)

Winter break re-cap

Wow... it has been forever since we've posted and so much has happened over the past several weeks!

First... a Christmas re-cap:

We enjoyed a pre-Christmas celebration in Iowa City with Mark's parents, George and Billie and enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the house. Cole was so happy to spend time with his Kansan grandparents.

Then, we celebrated Christmas eve and Christmas morning in Chicago (Libertyville) with my mom and step-dad and Cole sure was the center of attention! As with most 8 month olds, Cole opted to play with the ribbon and tissue paper over his fancy new talking globe and singing puppy (gifts from grandma and grandpa). We had a wonderful time!

Next, we were off to Boyne City to visit with my Dad, step-mom and brother in northern michigan- and once again Cole was spoiled to the nth degree. We enjoyed the winter wonderland and took every oportunity to sit back, eat great food, drink plenty of wine and relax.

Once back in Iowa City, we spent a low key New Years Eve at home with our friends Annie, Rogge, Katie and Doxie... Cole was in bed by 8:00, but I snuck into his room at mindight and gave him a big new year's smooch!

So, let me fill you in on all of Cole's new milestones:

He is now crawling and creeping (walking holding onto the furniture) at a fevered pace- he is really hard to keep up with and he has already acquired several bumps and bruises as he tries to manuver himself about the house.

Several more teeth have come in and now he has 7... starting to look like a little boy!

Also- Cole has begun to breakdance which brings Mark and I endless hours of enjoyment. I'm thinking of getting him his very own piece of cardboard... I will try to post a video of his new moves soon!

Cole has somehow learned to say good-bye when we are leaving or he is going down for a nap... he just smiles a big toothy grin, waves his hand and says (bye-bye)- it kinda melts your heart!

Last, but not least, Cole has become quite the little fish. I have been taking him to the Iowa City recreational center for a little swimming and he has really taken to it. This afternoon, we splashed around, swam a few laps and he had a great time... bobbing in and out of the water, floating on his back and squealing with delight! I think I will get him some floaties so we can play in the deep end next time...