save some turkey for someone else!

Well, Cole's first turkey day has come and gone. We had fun. Although I took some pictures throughout the day, only one really came out. At least it's the good one. . .





Here is he finishing off the turkey leg we gave him. . .





We also had our 9 month visit with Dr. M earlier this week. Proud to say Cole clocked in at 18.9 pounds and 28.5 inches. Looks like he has no problem with the weight issue anymore.

Can't believe his next visit will be at his year check up. . .man, this is going by so fast!

one minute of madness

Turn your speakers up to hear this madness. . . this is Cole's new "learning" table. . .and it wasn't even a gift - I actually got this for him. One guess what I "learned."

One more "darn it!" to put in the books. ;-)

picture day!

Our first photo shoot went. . .um. . .expensively. And that's the nicest adjective I can think to describe it.

My boy smiles all day. . .every day. . .except for the 15 minutes I'm paying a photographer to take his picture. His first pictures. The ones we'll look at for years to come. The first family Christmas card. And the highlight of our living room wall decor. Figures.

Thank goodness we were working with a professional, because I truly thought after watching the photo session that I would be stuck paying the sitting fee and purchasing nothing else. I have no idea how that woman was able to capture the few good shots that she did.

If you're thinking to yourself. . ."I didn't get any pictures," . . . don't worry, you will. I just need to get myself out to see you to deliver. ;-) In the meantime, here are a few of the noteworthy shots of my little man:

Bill calls this one his "planet of the apes" pose

Here I am actually "dropping" him for a laugh . . .

And this picture really captures the absolute Charlie Brown-ess of his head

I know I said I wouldn't do it again. . .

. . .but I did. I let Cole try and feed himself yesterday. Here's the aftermath:

Cole and I had lunch yesterday with a friend that is the Director of Counseling Services at a local college. Here he is relaxing on the floor in her office having his first therapy session. He even looks like the epitome of mental health. . .

I also was going through some old posts ( I can't believe we've reached 43 already!) and think we should clear a few things up:

* that butternut squash I said to try. . .don't bother. It was terrible.

* none of you could tell me that his cloth diaper was sticking out of its protective waterproof covering? No wonder he peed over everything in a 3 foot radius! Look at this picture:

* we haven't actually been to church with Cole yet except for the Baptism.

* I'm still talking about Cole's poop to anyone who will listen.

his first heist!

My son is a shoplifter. It's sad but true. We went to the Mall of New Hampshire today to spend some time away from our new carpet (the new carpet smelling fumes were killing us both!) and Cole tried to smuggle a treat for himself out of a store.

Cole was a fantastic little guy until we were in the Disney Store. We do a leisurely lap around the store and as I'm wheeling him down the aisle that leads outside. . .a store employee steps in front of us, gives me a nasty look and says "You're not going to put that back, are you?"

I look at Cole and he's got half of a stuffed Bambi's head in his mouth and two hoofs are soaked. He'd been sucking on the darned thing for awhile, it would seem. And no. . .I didn't see him grab it. And yes. . .I know it's large. Don't judge. Now I know the length of his reach. . .

And of all the Disney characters to choose from. . .Bambi? So weird. But fortunately for me, Bambi was on sale. Cole would hardly let it out of his reach to scan the tag. We got home and he insisted on napping with Bambi. . .and here are some pictures of the two new friends playing.

Also. . .he's started to climb on everything! We've started to baby-proof the place to level 2. . .standing. Here he is standing on the gate. . .now he just needs to figure out how to get back down!

We also scheduled Cole's first pictures for next week! Wait until you see what I've planned for him to wear. . .even down to his hat. These will definitely be pictures that we'll use to embarrass him in front of his first girlfriend. . .when he's 30. ;-)

that darned miss mary beth!

I have to tell you about our first visit to Baby Story Time at the library yesterday. . .

Picture it. . .we're in a cute kid-inspired decorated room in the library. . .about 15 moms with babies ranging in ages from 6 months to about 18 months. . .all laughing and playing and running around. . .they hand us a book, some bubbles, a jingle bell and a plastic Easter egg filled with rice. Miss Mary Beth holds a large stuffed Pooh Bear and tells us all to sit down in a circle and we'll get started. How much more fun could you have at 10 a.m. at the library?

We sing hokey pokey . . . we sing our alphabet. . .we say a few nursery rhymes. . .we blow bubbles. . .and "jingle" along to a kiddie rendition of YMCA. . .and I'm thinking, this is great. Cole is in absolute amazement of the place and the kids and the singing and fun going on. And then it's time to read our books. . .

We are told to sit the babies on our laps crossed legged. We all have the same book and the plan is that we'll all read them together. So I sit Cole down. . .which, incidentally, is how he sits with Bill every evening when they read their books together so Cole eagerly finds his place on my lap and is ready to go. . .and we start reading.

And he starts fussing. Almost immediately. The other children are mesmerized by their moms reading a story that is echoed throughout the room. Mine is trying to pull away from me in that way he arches his back and pushes at my face to break free. Miss Mary Beth looks at me to make sure everything is okay and I somewhat forcefully replace Cole to my lap and whisper to him that mom is reading him a story, too. . .and he loves stories. . . and should be good to mom in front of other moms and listen to the story. . .especially while we're in public at the library. . .but he just keeps trying to break free.

I can see that I'm losing this battle so I gingerly put Cole on the floor to see what he'll do. It seems, at first, that he still wants a story but just would prefer being on the floor. Phew. I continue to read. And then he turns around. . .and starts to crawl through the circle. . .over to Miss Mary Beth. . .puts his head in his hands and intently continues to listen to her read the story!

And I'm abandoned across the circle, with my book still in my hand. . .and moms are looking at me because my baby obviously would rather listen to Miss Mary Beth. . .and I panic. So I give one of those "silly kids. . .what won't they do?. . .please excuse us" sort of smiles and I grab Cole and bring him back. We immediately go through the same process. . .he breaks free and crawls across the circle to another mom. . .puts his head in his hands. . .smiles this time. . .and listens to her read the story.

This is where I give up. I figure it's not a huge deal if Cole wants to listen to other moms read him a story. . .regardless of how damaging it is to my ego. . .but now the issue is. . .I'm still by myself in the circle reading a baby book to no one! And I continue to read to myself! Baby cake. . baby cake. . I love you. . .baby cake. . .baby cake. . .eat a shoe. . .or whatever the book read. . .it was a blur at this point.

I'm fully aware that this is all in my head. . .but it was the longest baby book I'd ever read. . .horribly embarrassing. . .and I swear that several times Cole looked back at me just to rub it in. After the stories, Miss Mary Beth dumped a box of toys in the middle of the room and the babies had fun playing with the toys and each other. . .

And in the end Cole met a nice chubby baby named Joseph who really liked to keep his fist in Cole's mouth. Of course I was far too embarrassed to be taking pictures for you. . .so I don't have any proof of this event. But if we decide to return next week. . .I'll sneak a video for you.

What I can share, however. . .is a picture of a latch hook I made for Cole! Yes, me. And yes, latch hook. I seemed to remember liking latch hooks and thinking they were nice. Once I made one. . .I realized they aren't very nice and now I have this scratchy, sort of ugly rug thing that I need to do something with. Here are some pictures of my masterpiece:

stroller strides

My arms are still shaking from my workout this morning. Cole and I joined Stroller Strides today. . .for those of you unfamiliar with the program. . .Stroller Strides is an exercise program for moms that incorporates their babies using the stroller. And before you knock it. . .I have to tell you. . .it was one of the toughest workouts I've had in awhile.

Check it out at http://www.strollerstrides.com/

When I told a friend of mine that I was going today, they said "who have you become?" And I agreed. When I told Bill, he looked up at me from a magazine he was reading, nodded, and continued to read. I could never imagine a day that I would be comfortable with the fact that I needed (and might actually enjoy) a mommy's workout group. Today's that day. And I might have been embarrassed if this class didn't push me until I almost threw up.

Cole enjoyed himself too! You can imagine that watching his mom jump rope, grunt during squats, make ridiculous attempts at push ups and pull ups, lunge, run, jog, practically crawl to the finish line and then beg for mercy would be quality entertainment. He didn't make a peep for the 70 or so minutes we were there. He watched quietly and intently and cracked a smile when I made wheezing noises. Not funny, kid. . .not funny.

The class is run at Hampshire Hills (a very nice athletic club in town, for those of you that don't know) and their membership fees are such that I wouldn't be able to even hang out in the lobby on most days. . .so being able to hub-nub with the Amherst moms was entertaining for me. Although my two door Subaru that hasn't been washed since I was pregnant stuck out in the parking lot! ;-)

Because the class is run in their athletic dome, it's chilly and we all need to be bundled up. Here was Cole this morning. . .before class started. . .

And that was his face for the entire class. . .until he saw me struggling to do my ump-teenth sit up. . .that was apparently funny too.

9 months and climbing!

Look what I found this morning . . .just in time for Cole's 9th month. . .

We had to lower the crib and take the bumpers out because Cole is starting to climb up the rails. Bill has seen him standing while holding on to the top of the rail. I have only seen him on his knees, but it was enough to take a few pictures for you. Cole was very proud of himself!