another great playdate!

We had another beautiful play date today. . .here are some highlights. . .

Cole made his first finger painting. Once he had ingested a size able amount, he started painting and had a great time.

Here's the finished masterpiece. . .already on the fridge!

If that weren't exciting enough. . .we got to play outside today. It just happened to be Cole's first time on a swing, too!

After some basketball. . .

Cole tooled around the yard in a dump truck. . .

And ended the day with his first chocolate chip cookie.

Phew! Of course I'm beat . . . he only slept 30 minutes all day and is still going strong! Hopefully it'll be an early night.

NASCAR. . .really?!?

I can't explain it. . .and am somewhat reluctant to tell you. . .but Cole loves NASCAR. Neither Bill nor I enjoy NASCAR. Pops does, however, and this is how we first discovered Cole's love of the race.

Cole plants himself in front of the TV on raceday and giggles when he hears "Gentlemen, start your engines." Where did we go wrong. ;-)

Here he is today. . .complete with his cup of water and cracker in hand. Tough life. And excuse the mess. . .that's something else Cole loves to do. . .

oh, hello ladies. . .care to go upstairs?

Cole's on the move. . .and it's tough to keep up!

He's been walking for a couple of months now and I can see that he's just entering the 'running' phase. This is when babies use the weight of their still pretty large heads to gain momentum to move faster. Problem is. . .they don't do so well with stopping. Well, stopping before that large head bounces off a stationary object and stops the momentum for them.

I'd bubble tape the walls, chairs, tables, and my knee caps if I could. . .but alas.

Here he is "getting" daddy. This is the game they play almost every afternoon where Bill says he's "gonna get" Cole. . .and then Cole runs away giggling until he falls on something. Then, the tables are turned and Cole "gets" Bill. For those of you that are interested in playing. . .you can also be "gotten" by just lying on the floor. Cole will hop on you and say "ga ga gick gick" while he's laughing so hard drool is pouring onto your pants.

Once he realizes I'm taking pictures. . .he hits me with the pose. . .oh, hello ladies. . .

Very recently, Cole has figured out stairs. We'll be needing a second gate very soon. Here he is climbing the stairs tonight while Bill and I play the spotters. . .

a public service announcement. . .and Mick

While doing some reading this morning I came across some alarming information. First, I was reading my weekly Baby Zone newsletter that I have delivered to my inbox and read an article about a new study that found formaldehyde and other harmful toxins in baby bath products. When I finally weeded through the medical jargon to find the actual ingredients to look for listed on the bottle. . .I quickly recognized many ingredients on all kinds of things we have in the house for Cole.

My disclaimer is that you need to always put this kind of information into perspective but I am a firm believer that too much information isn't always bad thing and that as a mom, it's my responsibility to be informed. So I share with you. . .take it or leave it. . .here's a link to the article and a PDF cheat sheet to use when shopping for products.

Most of you that know me, know that I've been on this boat for awhile, and that products we use on or around Cole are usually certified organic or all-natural. And. . .as an aside. . .those of you that think I'm crazy need to scrub your shower with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar! You'll never see a cleaner tub. . .and it will remind you of making a homemade volcano in 6th grade science class. ;-) Nothing cleans a kitchen sink like a halved lemon, either.

http://www.babyzone.com/safety/article/toxins-baby-bath-products

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/parentsguide/EWG_parentsguide.pdf

Secondly. . . I read about another study that has found mercury in high fructose corn syrup. . .which, you quickly discover when scouring ingredient labels. . .is in everything. There's not a whole lot of options to avoid corn syrup. I think the initial concern is for pregnant women to avoid anything with traces of mercury. . .but I'm sure it could effect the wee ones, as well.



http://blog.happygreenbaby.com/2009/02/

Unrelated to this information, we've limited Cole's exposure to corn syrup anyway. Mostly because I'd rather he eat natural sugar and foods that have been as minimally processed as possible. I think we've been fortunate that our plan for Cole's culinary delights have worked out so far. . .and I've never seen a baby scarf down fresh onions and peppers like our boy! He's easily the smallest thing with the worst breath.

And. . .another aside. . .because I'm not Susie Homemaker. . .the three of us eat the same meal each night which has forced Bill and I to eat much more organic food than we had pre-Cole. The difference in taste when we eat at restaurants or fast food (God forbid!) is unbelievable.

My two-second soap box rant would be for you to try and buy local, organic produce this summer from your farmers' market. . .and you'll soon notice the difference. It's cheaper and fresher than what you'll find in the grocery store and you'll be supporting not only organic farming. . .but your local area, too. Okay. . .I'm done lecturing. . .

This is, after all, a blog about Cole so here's a super cute picture of he and Mick (the Cabbage Patch's official name) cuddling while watching Curious George the other morning.

corned beef and cabbage patch kids

Happy St. Patty's day!

Last St. Patty's day Cole got a rash on his face and a trip to the doc's. . .this year it was a bit better. He got his first Cabbage Patch Kid.

Cole played a lot with the Cabbage Patch Kids at our playdate the other day so I thought I'd pick him up one of his own. The one he's playing with today was not the first try. . .the only ones they had at the first store I went to were tiny newborn ones with pink onesies.

Okay, okay. I shouldn't have bought it but I did. Cole really just played with the plastic baby bottle that came with the doll. So I'll have to give that one to my niece. Pops came by today and together we decided the boy needed a decent-sized Cabbage Patch to call his own.

Three stores later we found him. His given name from the patch is Walker Hudson. I'll be changing that as soon as possible. Walker reminds me of George W. . .and we all know how I feel about him. I've started instilling my view of the worst president our country has ever had with Cole as well. So we feel the same on this one. . .

I figure since we got him on St. Patty's Day he ought to have a nice, Irish name. Here are some options from Bill and I (although not all Irish, I know):

Pat

Mitch
Mick

Archie

Colin

If you have any ideas. . .send them my way.

We're not sold on any of them. And you know. . .your Cabbage Patch name has got to stick. Mine was Alfreda Fanny. . .which my mother used to call our rear-ends. Her name was changed to Priscilla the very next day. Where I got the name Priscilla, I don't know. My brother had one named David and the two of them had matching pajamas. . . so I know what pattern I'm picking up next.

first playdate

Did we have a day!

Cole and I went for our first playdate this morning. We drove an hour to Fitzwilliam, NH where my sister nannies (is that the way you spell that. . .or is it nanny's?) for three adorable children. Zach is 4, Ike is 2 and Tori (short for Victoria) is 10 months old. And I swear, if Cole wasn't absolutely exhausted from his day he'd probably still be talking about it!





I've been worried lately (after our last run-in with the Baby Storytime folks at the Library) about Cole getting along with other kids. He just doesn't really have that much contact with other kids his age and gets so excited when he sees them. . .that it's close to assault.





Some folks (sorry if you are one of them. . .) bring their baby to daycare one day a week or for a few hours a few days. . .to give them exposure to other children. But I'm not independently wealthy and can't justify paying someone to watch Cole while I'm at home anyway. . .so we need to find another way.





He's got this thing too. . .that's a little tough. . .when he wants to show affection for another kid. . .he lovingly head butts them until they've had enough and they leave. I suppose only a mother can find it cute. Trust me. . .the mother of the other child that has a welt on their forehead from Cole's "love" doesn't always find it so cute.





So needless to say I was pretty worried about today. I figured these kids were somewhat strangers and we'd never have to see them again if our playdate went horribly wrong. The other thing I knew prior to going into this playdate was that their parents are both retired college basketball stars. . .so these kids are already taller, bigger, tougher than Cole from the start. They could certainly handle his head butts. . .





Cole was having such a great time that he actually forgot to sleep today. When we weren't there playing. . .he was telling me (or anyone who would listen. . .) about his day. He started running after watching the 2 year old run! He used 'words' when he hadn't before. He ate chicken nuggets! (But he taught those kids how to eat peas. . .) Who would have thought. . .?





They played with toy tractors. They played with a toy kitchen. They played Memory. They played with ride on firetrucks and cop cars. . .they played with barnyard animals. . .there were tunnels to crawl through and blocks to stack high. There was even a 10 minute milk break while we watched Caillou.*





* Caillou, for those of you that don't know. . . might just be the worst cartoon ever created for any child, of any age. I strongly encourage anyone with a few minutes extra time to You Tube Caillou. . .so long as you have a whiskey and water handy for when it's done.





But they dug it. . .and it was a milk break anyway. . .so the four of them could only hear their own heavy breath as they slurped their milk for thirst's sake rather than the enjoyment of taste. I'm sure they couldn't even hear that terrible Caillou over their slurping. . .





I did take pictures, but have blocked out the other child's face as a privacy to the family. You know how I am about putting family on the internet. . .I hate it. And I hate it even more when people post pictures without asking. . .so his face will be a smiley. You'll get the picture.








They are having a great time playing a duet. . .

So hopefully we'll repeat this playdate. It'd be nice to find someone closer to home, but it's also tough to find kids that will teach Cole good things while having a fun time, too. He's also riding forward-facing in his carseat these days. . . so the drive is much more pleasant.





Maybe pictures next time. . .

here comes the bride. . .and Cole. . .waddling beside her

I know. . .it's been some time since our last post. I've actually gotten a few emails to make sure we're okay over here. Guess everyone notices when I don't keep up my weekly posting. . .

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Aunt Tracy got married yesterday so between that and hosting her bridal shower over here the weekend before. . .we've been going nonstop. Cole has shown us that he needs to be the center of attention. . .constantly. Bill and I have witnessed him "hamming" it up for folks at the different functions for attention. Good thing there are plenty of people willing to lavish him with it. . .or we'd be in trouble!

Here he is at Aunt Tracy's shower. . .apparently someone was telling everyone else something very funny. . .and Cole decided to lay right where he was standing until the laughter stopped and attention was focused on him. . .again.

Here he is with dad at the wedding. . .the two of them stayed close to the bar!

And here we are playing the spoons during dinner. . .

Dancing with Nana. . .

And with the Bride. . .

Besides all that excitement, Cole has been spending the time perfecting his walking abilities. He's all over the place now. . .and getting faster everyday. I seem to remember some of you telling me to hold off on wanting him to walk so fast. . .and you were right. . .again. He had Bill and I going in circles last night just trying to keep up with him!