high chairs and piggies

We haven't posted in a bit and there's really no exciting excuse. There's just not been a whole lot going on to tell you about!

This week, we finally hung curtains and some artwork on the walls in Cole's room. It's this weird thing but Bill and I never seem to have anything on our walls in any of our homes. But for Cole's sake, and the fact that he'll never sit still for change-ings (or anything else) anymore, we figured it was best to give him something to look at.

Here's the new and improved shot of the crib. Those dinosaur paintings aren't as tiny as they look in the picture. I've found Cole on several mornings talking to them and the curtains as they sway in the breeze!

This is a beautiful quilt that Bill's aunt made Cole. It was so darned pretty that I decided to hang it on the wall and let Cole snuggle with it when he's not so. . .drooly.

And finally, here's an adorable ABC canvas we found. We try to sing our ABCs while we're getting our pants changed. . .but that hasn't stopped our uncontrollable squirming that happens the minute we don't have our pants on.

In other news, Cole is really starting to get around. He's learned how to roll where he wants to go. It's really funny to watch him thinking about where he'd like to be, and start his head moving so the rest of his body will follow. It's definitely means I need to vacuum more. . .darn! Gone are the days where I could put down a quilt and a few toys and go do the dishes. He's also discovered that toes can fit in his mouth!

He's really into Baby Einstein, too. (http://www.babyeinstein.com/) For those of you that are unfamiliar with this form of baby crack, Baby Einstein is a Disney-owned company that makes baby things. . .toys, books, DVDs, CDs, you name it, really! They touted that their DVDs with moving images set to classical music raised infants IQs. . .but of course that seems to be a crock. Doesn't really matter though. . .because these child specialists really know what babies like to watch - or at least what mine likes to watch! He even talks and laughs to the puppets on the screen so I figure I'm helping his vocabulary!

Sometimes I feel badly that my child is watching "TV". . .but then I think about how his life would be if I didn't have that 30 minutes everyday to brush my hair or make dinner. . .and I realize it's really best for everyone! ;-)

This is his intense "I'm-watching-my-baby-crack-show-so-leave-me-alone" face.

And finally, Aunt Tracy got Cole his first high chair for my birthday. Funny how that happens. . .they even take over your birthday presents! Bill threw the parts all over the place yesterday afternoon and somehow put them back together to make a chair. We aren't so much into reading the directions in my house! ;-)

Cole's watching us eat. . .looks like he's ready!

And a shot of the piggies. . .'cause that's my favorite part!

Tomorrow, Cole will be attending his first triathalon as we cheer on Uncle Jack and Aunt Colette! I'll be sure to take pictures to share!

Updates, updates

I've been getting some questions from a few of you asking for updates on previous blogs. So why don't we do that?

Our "get-Cole-to-sleep" campaign has been going well. Maybe not well, but certainly better than before. We most usually have our daily naps in the crib with no complaints. . .and have even been found playing in the crib once awake instead of screaming our head off. Score.

For some reason though, the crib is still off limits for nighttime sleep. Cole will start the evening there, only to wake up at the exact moment that I would like to fall asleep. . .and fuss and cry for just long enough that my sleepiness passes. He will, however, fall right asleep in his pack and play and stay put for most of the evening.



Last week he slept most evenings in the pack and play from about 9:30 p.m. right up until 8:00 a.m. without waking up in the middle of the night! This week though, he is still sleeping in the pack and play, but has been waking a few times each night for just a few minutes at a time.

Here is a picture of some bubble fun with Cole and the cat.
This has nothing to do with what we're talking about, but is a super cute picture.

Okay, update #2: cloth diapers. No way. Not now. . .not during the summer. I'm not even sure how folks survived during the summer or in hotter climates with these diapers in the past. The first time I put one on him and within 30 minutes everything on or around Cole was wet. . .was the last time. How's that for an update? ;-) I'm sure there is some user error. . .but overall, they are too bulky and sticky and sweaty and overall yucky for the summertime. We'll try again when the weather is a bit cooler. . .since I bought a ton of them. . .

In other Cole news. . .we were also able to go out for dinner Friday night with Uncle Jack and Aunt Colette. We went to this great little place in town where I knew Bill's cousin, Bridget was working. It happened that she was off work at the time we came in and just had some prep work to do so she took Cole with her while we ate in peace! How fantastic is that? I didn't even plan it. . .well, sort of. ;)

Here he is writing the Saturday breakfast specials on the board!

If you have time to lean, you have time to clean!

(But you can bring your dinosaur)

That's it for now. We've finally scheduled a christening class for me to go to. . .(in my sarcastic voice). . .whoo whoo. Not sure when it'll be scheduled once I learn how to be a good Catholic, but I'll keep you all posted. At least it'll be an excuse for a party.

Concert in the Oval

Pops and I went to the Lunchtime Concert Series on the Oval today. Good times. Apparently, every Thursday for the summer at lunchtime there is a little kiddie concert in the town square. . .which, incidentally, is an oval. You can even score some lunch from a fantastic pizza joint for a few bucks!

When we first arrived Cole was sleeping. Go figure.

I really think all of our sleeping problems would be solved if I just had a band playing in his bedroom. The louder environment, the easier and better he sleeps.

After I had three pieces of pizza (piggie!) he woke up and couldn't believe all the commotion. It's getting so neat to watch him get excited about things around him and watch him figuring stuff out.

Here's a scope of the scene today:

It was a beautiful day and the kids were having a blast! There were so many moms with kids there and it was comforting for me to see that.

Here's the little guy once he woke up and figured out there was total fun happening all around him:

our first fourth

Bill and I took Cole to the family fun and fireworks day at the town park. Most days I enjoy living in this quaint little New England town with its rustic downtown, tiny newspaper and folks that wave to me on the street because they remember I went to church. . .once. But yesterday it seemed that all the hillbilly, toothless, dirty residents of our town still sporting rat tails (that long piece of hair in the back that is usually braided) came out for the fun, too. So it was a people watching event for Bill and I as much as Cole's first fireworks!

There was a band playing before the fireworks that Cole didn't really enjoy. I think it was the jazzy horns that did him in. We took a quick walk to snap a picture and then left quickly when Cole let us know of his displeasure. . .

As you can see they were really jazzy.

We tooled around the park for a bit (I didn't realize the fireworks didn't actually start until 9:30 p.m. and we got there about 7:00 p.m.) and Cole watched all the rat tails walking by. He was particularly interested in the other children around.

Here he is with dad. . .

As soon as the sun went down it got chilly and Cole and I both got restless.

Overall he was digging the fireworks and didn't seem bothered by the "booms" but when it took too long in between individual fireworks, he started to fuss and cry. That was completely alright with Bill and I because we weren't looking forward to being stuck in traffic with a crying Cole so we left early and watched the neighbors light off bottle rockets. Just as entertaining!

could it be true?

Cole had a huge development in our sleeping struggle yesterday! I was able to put him down in his crib awake (never able to do that before!), walk away, and after just a few minutes of fussing, he fell asleep! Asleep! For a nap. Without screaming or crying or shenanigans.

I went downstairs and started chatting with a friend on IM and lost track of the minutes that passed until I realized that the monitor was quiet. Figuring he surely had smothered himself in the bumpers I had to put back up. . .I went to check and this is what I found. . .

I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't taken the picture. I can't seem to keep him off his belly so we're not worrying about that. Can't keep him on his back if he's the one rolling over! And after a few mishaps with arms and legs out of the crib slats, I put the bumpers back on for a bit.

He only slept for an hour or so but then did a repeat performance for his afternoon nap in his crib as well! Could we finally be headed on the road to normal sleeping land? Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet but I'll leave you with one more picture of the sleeping beauty. . .and let you know how today goes. Looks like he drools in his sleep just like mom. . . ;-)

lunchtime in the park

Cole and I went to the local park for lunch today. There was a nice little path just beyond the park with a cute bridge and bench overlooking the river.

Here's the view from the bridge:

Not a bad little place to have your lunch. I sat and had my lunch leisurely while Cole took a nap.

Although every time he heard a bird that was too loud, he looked up and made a very annoyed face. In the middle of my lunch, however, some super weird dude holding a fishing pole walked up from the river. He sort of ran around, looking scared and kept looking back at the river. After a few minutes (and a call to a friend to make sure he could see I had a phone), he headed back down to the river. Cole and I decided to move spots.

Here's where we ended up for the rest of our lunchtime. We did end up seeing that weird dude run right through the park a few minutes later holding just a fish hook. He ran up over the bridge and down the street so I felt better about that.


When Cole woke up, we had a little fun in the grass:

hot fun in the summertime

Cole had his first dip in a pool yesterday. Once he got used to the water temp, he splashed around a bit. Seemed that he had an easier time getting in than I did!

I'm also sad to report that without my knowledge, I've turned into one of those people that wears a one piece bathing suit with shorts in the pool. I wouldn't have even believed it if I hadn't seen the pictures myself. Funny how that stuff just creeps up on you. . .my mom thought that was quite funny.

Here are the piggies in the pool.

And cruisin' around in our inflatable fire truck.

(Thanks Aunt Colette!)