Eleven Months

Sweet Cole,

I cannot believe you are eleven months old!  Where in the world has the time gone?!  You are at an absolutely precious age right now.  You love interacting with people, and you are so expressive.  You are doing this precious thing right now where you tilt your head and smile whenever you hear someone say your name.  You also love to point at things.  You have lots to say, and I'm pretty sure that you're saying Dada consistently.  Whenever I ask you to say Mama, you look at me and smile or sometimes laugh!  You will give me sweet slobbery baby kisses though.  :)

Likes- One of your favorite things to do is eat.  You seem to be a bottomless pit.  You love your brother's room, and if the door is open you head right for it.  You also think the word "no" is pretty hilarious.  Anytime you hear it (which has been more often lately!) you turn around, smile or laugh and usually go right back to what you were doing.  You also have a new love for books.  You like to read in the car and while you get your diaper changed, and the book baskets in our living room are some of the first things you go for when you're exploring.

Dislikes- You're still such an easy going baby that I have trouble finding things that you dislike.  You do HATE having an empty highchair tray or bottle.  You also hate being buckled into your carseat and getting dressed.  Once you're settled, you're usually ok though.  You don't like missing out on what your big brother is doing.  If he's eating, you want to be eating.  If he's playing at the lego table, you want to be right there next to him. 

Eating- I know that they say babies will let you know when they're full, but I don't think you will.  You seem to be a bottomless pit these days (I think you may be getting ready for a growth spurt!)  You love food and pound on your tray fuss until we put more on your trays.  You aren't picky about what you eat, but we do have to plan carefully about which foods we give you first.  We have to hide any carbs until you've eaten your other food or you'll refuse them.  You are pretty much eating everything we are these days along with your 3, 8 ounce bottles.  I have to admit I got a little bit sad today thinking about transitioning my sweet baby boy from bottles to sippy cups.  

Playing- You are into everything these days.  You are so close to walking.  You've been cruising around the walls lately and have taken a few steps on your own here and there.  You love keys, remotes and phones.  You also love cords (which reminds me of another little boy that had a slight obsession with cords!)  

Sleeping- Not much has changed here.  You're still a pretty good sleeper.  You usually take 2, 2 hour naps and sleep from around 8-6 most nights.  You wake up happy most mornings and talk and pull things off your shelf.

I can't believe it, but we are in full party planning mode around the Kelso house.  Octobers will be full, busy, HAPPY months for our family.  We are excited to celebrate our boys!

We love you!

Mommy and Daddy

Trying to get a picture of you two...Levi insisted on including the giant leaf.

Sometimes dinner is messy...

Black beans and avocado

And one of this sweet (not so little) guy...

He just went ahead and took his shirt off in preparation for a messy dinner!

All of this made me think of this picture of Levi from June 2010

Ten Months

Dear Cole,

This month has been busy getting back into our school year routine but still such a fun month.  I love watching you learn new things. You are wearing size 4 diapers and 9 month clothes.

We've started making plans for your birthday.  I can't believe how quickly this year has gone.  Life is busy, but I try to stop and cherish the little things you (and Levi) are doing and saying these days.  I love our quiet time at night before you go to sleep.  You play with my face and cuddle up next to me, and it makes my heart melt.

Likes- You love to watch your brother, and you follow him around the house to see what he's getting in to!  Misty says when you see him run by during the day you point and "ooohh" at him.  Before we know it, he'll be teaching you all of his tricks.  Yikes!  You still love to sneak into Levi's room if the door's open.  We have to watch you carefully.  You like to eat (more on that later...)  You love to cruise on the furniture.

Dislikes- You don't like feeling left out.  You want to be in the middle of the action with everyone else.  You don't like to rough house (probably because you're forced into it so often)  You used to like it when Daddy tossed you in the air but not anymore, and you definitely don't like it when your brother gets in your space!  You've also definitely started having some separation anxiety.  You don't like me leaving the room you're in which makes cooking dinner challenging.

Eating- You eat three meals (including 3, 8 ounce bottles) a day now and have one or two snacks.  (Most of the time you sleep right through your morning snack.)  You eat just about anything we eat now with the exception of shellfish, nuts, and honey.  You had grilled cheese and oranges for the first time recently.  You LOVED the grilled cheese, but the oranges took a little while to get used to.  You still love just about anything we give you.  You had pancakes the other day too!  Usually your fruit is the first thing to go, but you hardly touched it that morning.  Tonight I was cutting up some black olives for dinner, and I couldn't keep you (or your brother) out of them.  Luckily we had enough for our pasta.


Playing- You are in to everything these days.  You love when we open up the toy box.  We usually see a big smile and hear, "ohh! ohh!"  You like to stand with Levi at the lego table, and you do a really good job of getting in the way.  We're having lots of discussions with Levi about sharing (and being gentle!) with you.  You've also found the dishwasher and you love to try and climb inside.  Remotes and phones are also favorite toys.  You are all over the place, and you are FAST!  The only time you like to be still and cuddle is nighttime, and there are even some nights when you don't have any interest in cuddling then either.

Sleeping- We have our ups and downs, but overall, I'd say you're a great sleeper.  Most nights you sleep from about 8-7, and you take two naps during the day.  Most of the time you wake up happy and talking.  I love to walk into your room and see your big smile between the crib slats.


Sweet Cole, we love you so much and are thankful for the blessing you are to our family.  You make us smile and give your brother a playmate (or someone to pick on...)  I know the day is coming when you will hit him back or take his toy away.  He is in for a rude awakening, but you boys love each other so much!

Imagination

Levi has a great imagination.  He is always creating, inventing, or imagining something new.  Here are a few of his latest creations/adventures:

Riding in his pirate ship water table

The boys were both playing with their little laptops.  Levi decided to take both laptops and create his own little network.  

Flying his rocket ship to Pluto.  He ran out of gas twice but luckily he was able to find gas stations!

Levi loves to build with his legos, and he almost always builds gas stations.  This one has a really tall sign so people can see it from the highway.  

I sure do love my creative little guy!

Blessed

I love looking at these two precious little boys.  

Cole- July 2013

Levi- July 2010

Swim Lessons

Last year, Levi and I took the Mommy and Me class at one of the local pools.  It was fine, but Levi was one of the oldest- and most adventurous- in the class.  On the very first day, all of the kids were sitting on the side of the pool while the moms tried to coax them into the water.  Levi stood up, and said, "Scoot back, Mom!  I'm gonna jump!"

This year he was in the Preschool 1 class, and Mommy didn't have to get in the pool!  Yay!  There were two teachers and three little boys which is pretty perfect if you ask me.  Levi LOVED his time with Miss Alyssa this year.  He followed directions (for the most part) and showed her how adventurous he can be when it comes to the water.  

There was one moment where he was sitting on the side of the pool while she worked with the other boy in the deep end for a few minutes.  Levi was playing and being silly on the side of the pool and fell in!  Before I could get up and yell her name, Miss Alyssa scooped him up and put him on the side.  Later that day, I asked Levi about it thinking it might have scared him a little bit.  All he had to say about it was, "I sank!"  Yes you did little guy.  Thankfully someone was close by.

Levi practiced making "big arms" across the pool, putting his face in the water, blowing bubbles, kicking legs while floating on his tummy and his back, and on the last day they even learned how to do a cannonball!  (Levi of course wanted to practice in the bathtub that night)  

It's really tough to get Levi to stop long enough to take a picture...especially when he's in the pool!

My little fish sure loved his swim lessons this year, and is already talking about seeing Miss Alyssa next year.

Nine Months

Dear Cole,

I am enjoying this age and all of the fun things you are doing right now.  You are all over the place these days and into everything- Levi's magnetic chore chart (don't worry Mom and Dad- it's been moved!), the train table and toy box, pulling night lights out of the wall, and eating dog food- YUCK!

Stats:

We don't go to the dr until the next week, so I'll update this then.  You are still wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 3 diapers, but you're close to moving up to 9 month clothes.

Likes:  You love the freedom you have now that you can move around on your own.  Like I said earlier, you are all over the place, and we all have to keep a close eye on you.  Levi is even pretty good at making sure you stay out of things (I think he likes having someone to boss around).  You especially love the dog food, and it totally grosses me out!  You love to crawl into Levi's room and watch him play while you explore his things.

Dislikes:  Levi likes to have control over where you go and what you do.  He'll build forts out of his little table and chairs and pillows to trap you or close the door when you make it into his room.  You HATE this!  You're also not a fan of an empty high chair tray.  You scream and hit your tray until more food is added.

Eating: You love food, and you'll eat pretty much anything we give you.  Some of the foods you've tried this month are peaches, cantaloupe (a new favorite!), cottage cheese, chicken, bread, and cheddar cheese.  You still get your fair share of all the yummy fruits and veggies you've tried- carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, blueberries, apples, mangoes, pears, avocado...

Sleeping: After a few nights of sleep training, you are we are ALL back to sleeping through the night.  You sleep from about 8-7, and still take two good naps during the day.  You usually nap from around 9-11 and then again from about 1-3.  You are pretty good at taking your morning nap on the go since thats usually when we're out and about.

Playing:  Two of the newest things you're doing are clapping and giving kisses.  I love seeing how much fun you have when you interact with the people around you.  You love cell phones and remote controls, so we have to make sure they're put up high where you can't reach them.  If they're up on the entertainment center, you try your hardest to CLIMB up there!  You'll get one foot on the bottom and try to pull yourself up.  You love to pull yourself up at the lego/train table and play with the Legos while Levi builds.  You are still pretty laid back when he grabs things from you.  We love your little laid back attitude, but we know the day is coming will you will hold your ground and get upset when Levi takes your toys!

Cole, you are a precious addition to our little family.  You are a sweet, laid back little guy, and we are so thankful for you!