13 Months

Dear Cole,

It is always amazing to see how much you change from month to month!  Here's what you're up to right now:

- You still L-O-V-E to eat, and you are intense and moody about your food.  One day you'll love something, and the next day you'll spit it out as soon as it hits your tongue!
- You have figured out that cabinets have FUN things in them, and you try to open them all.
- You love to dump things out- the tupperware cabinet, the book baskets, the toy box...
- You are a quick little crawler, and you love moving around and exploring things.  You love the window by the door, the lego and train table, and anything you can find in the kitchen.
- You've taken a couple of steps on your own here and there.  I've noticed that you're getting a little bit braver (especially when Levi isn't around!)
- You are clapping and waving (when you feel like it).  I've noticed you waving at your food.  I'm not sure if you're saying, "Oh.  Hello!" or if you're saying "MMM....goodbye!"  :)
- I have noticed lately how much you are understanding.  For example, you'll pick up objects that I'm talking about like your paci or the fish in the bathtub.
- You notice your reflection (not as you but as another baby).  Tonight you tried to share your paci with baby in the mirror.
- You are a big flirt.  You smile, giggle, and put on a show for the crowd.
- You are drinking only milk and only out of a sippy cup.  I think these transitions were easy because you have a big brother to watch and look up to.  If he leaves a sippy cup laying around, you make a beeline for it!  You love straw cups!
- Your very favorite toy right now is this little captain that goes with your bath boat.
-You've started "talking" on phones and toys.
- You have started throwing fits lately, and it makes me giggle!  Last night, Levi had a snack and you wanted one too.  You were sitting on the floor, and you just fell flat on your face crying.

We love you, Colar Bear!

Soccer

For the last few months, Levi has been playing soccer.  He was on a team with a few friends, and all the moms and dads had a great time giggling at the funny things our kids did.  This was definitely a learning experience for all of us!

We had one night of practice and one soccer game each week.  Leading up to our first practice, we had a lot of conversations about listening to his coach, following directions, and participating in practice.  I definitely saw progress in Levi's participation and abilities through the season, but we're still talking about toddler soccer!  There were lots of distractions- dirt, dogs, snacks, other soccer balls...

We had two great coaches that were so patient with a group of 3 and 4 year olds!  At practice they did things like racing to the goal, kicking the ball with a partner, and even dribbling the ball down the court and kicking it into the goal.  Levi of course didn't dribble the ball straight down the court- it was a round about path to the goal, but maybe he was dodging imaginary opponents, right?!

Soccer games were stressful.  At the beginning of the season, we tried so hard to get Levi to go onto the field when it was his turn and follow the ball.  As the season progressed, games were stressful because every time Levi got near an opponent, I had to hold my breath and said a little prayer that he wouldn't knock down, roar at, or throw dirt in anyone's face.  Levi had a few time outs (from us- during games!) and one game that we actually had to leave early!  Now that the season is over, Levi asks when he can sign up for another soccer team.

Overall, soccer was a great experience for all of us.  Levi learned about team work, following rules, and earned his medal (which he is so proud of!)

Halloween

Levi decided this summer that our family should dress up as The Incredibles for Halloween.  It is one of his very favorite movies, and he'd watch it every single day if I'd let him.  The movie is about a whole family of superheroes.  Levi decided that he needed to be Mr. Incredible (the Dad), I needed to be Violet (the daughter), Mat needed to be Dash (the son), and Cole needed to be Jack Jack (the baby).  This might tell us something about how he sees our family dynamic, huh?!  No matter what we said, this was what he insisted.

Mat and I weren't about to put on spandex superhero costumes, but luckily we found t-shirts and black masks so we could be supers in disguise!  I ironed an Incredibles patch onto a red onesie for Cole, and of course bought the whole costume for Levi.

Levi was so excited to finally get to wear his costume.  We went to Trunk or Treat at our church again, and it was the perfect amount of 'Halloween' for us!  Trunk or Treat lets Mat and I enjoy a night with friends from church, and it gives Levi the chance to experience trick-or-treating.

We had fun decorating our car this year with a little inspiration from Pinterest.  It was a very last minute decision, but it was super quick and turned out pretty cute!

Cupcakes and Superheroes and Brown Bears, Oh my!

When Mat and I started talking about birthday parties for the boys, we knew we wanted each one to have their own special party.  I'm not sure how long we'll keep that up, but I knew I wanted Cole to have his own 1st birthday party.

We went back and forth about having them on two separate weekends or on the same weekend.  We knew it would be difficult for our family to be here on two different weekends, but we knew we were asking a lot of our in-town friends to spend most of their Saturday celebrating with us.  Ultimately, we decided we'd have one big crazy day so that our families could be here to help celebrate both boys.  

We decided to stick with the Eric Carle theme for the first birthday.  (Levi's was a Very Hungry Caterpillar party)  Both boys love reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, so it was the perfect fit for our little guy.  We wanted to keep Cole's party simple, so we met at the park and had sandwiches and cupcakes.

The weather was all over the place during the week leading up to the party.  (We've always had BEAUTIFUL weather in October, so originally I wasn't worried...)  I checked the weather every day and every day it seemed to change.  Rainy, Cold, Windy, Sunny...  Saturday morning ended up being beautiful- a little cold- but beautiful.  

Cole didn't do much playing at the park, but it was great to see so many of our friends and family members there to help us celebrate.  When we finally decided to sing and enjoy some cupcakes, Mat reached over and took some bread away.  Cole loves his carbs, and he was so upset with Daddy for taking away his food.  He was so upset, that he cried all the way through "Happy Birthday" and continued even when we gave him his cupcake.  The crying didn't stop even after he tried his cupcake, but he did decide that the cupcake was a good thing.  He smashed his little cupcake all over his face and his jacket and squished it through his fingers...all while crying about his bread.  His tears did eventually stop, and he LOVED his cupcake.  

Mmmmm....bread!

                                 I want my bread back!                                                 This isn't so bad...

After Cole's party, we had a few hours to recuperate and decorate before our Superheroes arrived for training!  For a while now, Levi has been obsessed with superheroes.  He even went through a phase where he introduced himself with "superhero" as part of his name.  There was no question what we would do for his party.  

Mat and I set up a few training exercises for our little superheroes.  They had obstacles to run through, lava to walk over, villains to defeat with silly string, a super speed race, and buildings to break through (and then demolish!)  After their training was complete, we made masks and earned our capes (Thank You, Gran!)  Aunt Mindy even made balloon animals and swords!  We sang "Happy Birthday" and ate more cupcakes, and then the kiddos continued their training on their own.

Another taste of cupcake- not quite so messy this time!

It was a FULL day (and by about 9:30 that night, all of us had crashed), but it was a great day of birthdays.  We loved having so many people help us celebrate our boys.  

One

Dear Cole,

Today you are one year old.  I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by!  You are still our happy little guy...most of the time.  You definitely let us know if there's something you don't like.  We hear lots of angry grunts at the table when you're out of food or when you don't think you have enough food on your tray.

You have this sweet shy face that we see every once in a while.  You smile, bury your head in our shoulders and look up at the new face.  It's so sweet!

Likes- You LOVE books right now.  You love to read in the car, while I change your diaper or get your dressed, and you especially love to dump all the books in our baskets out and look through them all.  You still love to watch, follow, or "play" with your brother.  Sometimes he puts up with you and sometimes not...depending on his mood.  You love being tossed these days.  You laugh out loud and squeal as soon as you fall into Daddy's arms.

Dislikes- Running out of food- or thinking that you might.  The other day you had a mouth full of food, food in both hands and food on your tray and you were still screaming for more.  You are also starting to have more of a voice when it comes to your brother taking your toys away from you.

Eating- You love bread, pasta, crackers, and cheese- so much so that we have to hide all of it until you've eaten your fruit.  You also love carrots and green beans.  You will eat pretty much anything we give you as long as it's in the right order.  ;)  You seem to be a pickier eater than Levi was at this age.  There isn't much that you don't like, but from day to day your tastes change.  One day you'll love avocado, and the next day you won't eat it.  It's still so funny to me to see your face when you don't want something.  If you do accidentally put something you don't want in your mouth, you open your mouth, stick out your tongue and wait for it to fall out all while making this silly face.

Playing-  You love most of the toys we have for you, but right now, you're most interested in exploring things around our house- the dishwasher, bookshelves, and the dog food...ugh!  If the dog bowl is within your reach, you head straight for it, and you usually put the food right into in your mouth.  You got a few new toys for your birthday that you are really enjoying (and so is your brother!)

This morning I finally saw you hold your own with Levi.  He was trying to take your new phone away from you, and you started grunting and trying to hide the toy behind you!  You've recently figured out how to shake your head 'no'.  You sit in your car seat or high chair and shake your head back and forth.  You are becoming more vocal with lots of new sounds, but the only word we really hear is "Da da"

Sleeping- At home you're still taking 2 good naps, but it sounds like you might be trying to drop that morning nap.  I'm going to fight that a little while longer, but we'll see.  At night you still sleep about 11 hours.

We love you, ONE YEAR OLD! 

Birthday Interview

I love listening to the things that Levi has to say.  Hearing his answers to these questions made me laugh out loud and warmed my heart all at the same time.  We sure do love our sweet FOUR year old boy!

- How old are you? Four
- Favorite color- Green
- Favorite food- Green apples and steak
- Favorite toy- Buzz Lightyear Space Ship
- Favorite snack- Big Line Strawberry Sticks (Fruit snacks)
- Favorite TV show- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Super Mickey episode)
- Favorite drink- Chocolate Milk
- Favorite movie- The Incredibles and Wall-e
- Favorite animal- I don't have a favorite animal.  Actually, yeah I do- elephants because we have hoses.  An elephants trunk is kind of like a hose
- Favorite song- My bedtime songs- The Sheep and the Lord and Be Still and Know
- What makes you happy? Not going to time out
- What makes you sad? Going to time out
- Who is your best friend? Colton
- What is one thing you love about Daddy? when we hug
- What is one thing you love about Mommy? your necklaces because you're so pretty with those on
- What is one thing you love about Cole? playing with him
- What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't want to grow up- I just want to keep living with you

Four

Levi, I cannot believe that it's been four years since we first met you and kissed your sweet little face.  I miss that cuddly little baby, but I love watching you grown and learn.  You are a hilarious, smart, precious little boy.  We are so thankful for you and the FUN you add to our family.

Body
- You are 37 pounds and 39 inches tall.  You wear 4T clothes and 8W shoes.
- You're a very physical little kid and you play HARD.  You run, jump, slide, yell, squeal, and laugh.  I love watching you play...until you slide or fall into something.  But, most of the time, some cuddles and kisses from Mommy still make those bumps and bruises feel better.
- Some of your favorite foods are: spaghetti and meatballs, hamburgers, yogurt, applesauce, and green apples.  You still love most fruit and like most vegetables.  You know that they make you healthy and are very aware of which foods are "junk" and which are not.
- You love to play outside.
- You love to stand on your head on the couch.
- You still have rest time every afternoon.  Some days you sleep, some days you're content to sit in bed and read books, and other days you dump out every toy in your room.

Mind
- You have a vivid imagination.  In just the last few days we've been monsters, aliens, robots, and superheroes.
- You have an excellent memory.  You'll bring up things weeks or months after we've talked about them, and I have to stop and remember the conversations we had!
- You have an extensive vocabulary.  You remember words that you hear and use them in your play and conversations with others.  You like to learn new words and ask about what they mean.
- You love to build and create things.  Your legos are one of your favorite toys, and you are always building and creating new things- robots, transformers, spaceships...
- You always want to know how things work.  You are definitely one of those kids that likes to take things apart and try and get them back together again.
- You love to read books.  Your favorites to read on your own are Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Pat the Bunny.  You love to listen to just about any book on your shelf- Dr. Seuss books, Disney books, seasonal books...
- You are a MASTER at stalling before bedtime.  Monsters in your closet, having to go to the bathroom, water, the possibility of a thunderstorm...you know all the excuses.

Heart
- You love to be a helper.  You like helping cook, pack bags, and clean- not necessarily pick up toys- but really clean- wipe down the house, vacuum with the dust buster...
- You are protective of your little brother- but not always gentle with him.  ;)
- You've recently started talking about feeling left out.  Things morning at church while we were standing up singing, you looked up at me and said, "I feel left out because I'm not as tall as you are." (I don't hear that very often!)
- You still have quite the temper.  While you are having fewer meltdowns than you did at 3, we still see them frequently.
- You love snuggling and always make sure to give me a big bear hug before I leave your bedroom at night.
- You are afraid of storms and sometimes the vacuum.
- You are very particular (and stubborn) about things.  You know exactly what you want- and you're not afraid to let us know!
- You are friendly and enjoy meeting new kids.  You walk right up to them at the park or the grocery store or the doctors office and introduce yourself and want to play.

We love you to the moon and back, Levi!