the ball pit didn't really cut it

Before Bill and I became parents, we had this idea that our children would have all they needed in the form of stability, support and love. We were not going to be the kind of parents that get their child every new toy and gadget, every weekend a different outing, everyday a new treat. Kids like that turn out to be spoiled, ungrateful and usually. . .unhappy. Ohhhh no. . .our baby was going to have a childhood like ours. . .spent surrounded by the love of our families and learning to really appreciate what we can give.

And then we had Cole.

Somehow . . .we're deep in a lifestyle that supports exactly what we didn't want to do. He has just about every character from the Disney Cars movie. . .and gets a new one at least once a week. He has a slew of movies that he chooses from each day. . .three (or is it four now?) ride on cars and trucks. . .baskets and baskets of toys, and puzzles, and crayons, and stuffed animals, and blocks and the list goes on and on.

And new stuff enters our very small home each day.

It wasn't until a friend of mine gave me a ball pit that I realized we are out of control. Her boys are too big for it and the gigantic Fisher Price inflatable fire truck ball pit has life in it still to give. I was so excited last night watching Bill put it together. . .thinking to myself how Cole would light up when he saw it this morning. . .

I'm sure you can see where this is going. . .

Cole walked over to it. . .said something. . .threw some of the balls out of it. . .and asked to watch Horton Hears a Who. . .again. Sigh. Can a toddler be so jaded by constantly getting new things that a toy of this magnitude doesn't even register on his Richter scale? Apparently so.

So, for the rest of you. . .and to give myself some satisfaction of hearing the "oooohhhh aaahhh" effect, here are pictures of the new ball pit.

our little Picasso

Bill and I tried to nurture Cole's artistic side this evening. In actuality, we just needed something to do with him in the house while he's not feeling too well. . .

Finger painting (as long as he had a paint brush) was a hit!

free babysitting disguised as speech therapy!

We had our speech therapy evaluation this morning.

Let me just throw this out there for anyone debating speech therapy. . .the evaluation consists of three trained professionals who come to your house. . .and play with your kid for 2 hours. . .with their own toys. . .and then clean up these toys, taking them with them when they leave. So at the very least, I considered it top-quality, educational free babysitting while I sipped coffee and watched.

And all it cost me was a quick early a.m. tidying around the house, and lighting a few candles for that nice-home-smell-control. Sounds like a good deal to me!

Seriously though, Cole was not eligible for their services, which I had anticipated. But. . .like his pediatrician said, you just never know so it's best to get it checked out. It seems Cole's cognitive, fine and gross motor skills are off the charts. . .and the official diagnosis is that he just doesn't feel like saying much about it, yet. Oh. . .and his mother does way too much for him. But we didn't need professionals to point that out!

Overall, he had a great couple of hours and is currently taking a nice nap to rest from his busy morning. Score for us both.

He did try to climb into his car toy box this morning. I took a few pictures but didn't manage to capture the many times the box flipped over on him. . .dumping about 900 toy cars onto his face. For some reason, he'd pick up every car and return it to the box. . .climb in. . .and do the same thing over again. And they said his cognition was right on?

Cole's Car

On these colder fall days when Bill doesn't feel like trucking all the way to the park, Cole is content to stay in the yard and play with his car. I would truck to the park during the day. . .but we remember what happens when I do that lately.

He hasn't quite gotten the hang of making the car move while inside. . .but he sure likes to run and push it down the driveway!

Here's a short video so you can get a sense of his speed. . .he's running me in circles these days!

We both have a head and chest cold this week, but it certainly isn't slowing Cole down. In other news, I had my 6 month check up with Dr. Witt. Everything is looking great except that I gained a bit too much weight this month. It's sounding familiar. . .so I'll have to pay attention to my snacking. Three months doesn't sound like a long time. . .but it's long enough to put on more weight than I would like.

Did I say three months? I keep thinking this new baby thing isn't happening until next year. . .but as the leaves outside are reminding me. . .that's much closer than I'm allowing myself to remember. . .breathe. . .breathe.