Thursday, January 15, 2015

Cole and the Big 2

This happened at the beginning of January. This curly-haired little leprechaun turned 2!

 Morning is the best time for present-opening!
 Oh, look! Daniel Tiger! (Hint: this is not the last time Daniel Tiger will make a birthday appearance.. The boy is OBSESSES with DT. He loves that neighborhood.)
 And this big gift (from Grammy and Pop, because heaven knows we wrap in newspaper. Because we care about the earth and don't want to add more waste and all that)...
 is Cole's new MOTORCYCLE!!! He could barely let Tyler put it together, he wanted to ride it so!
 Time to get some fishing on with (courtesy of Grandpa and Grandma Carla!).

It was a good day for Cole. The big kids were back at school and I was making him a Daniel Tiger cake! He also got to watch his new Daniel Tiger movie! People called throughout the day and sang him his favorite song! Also, cake!
 He really, really liked the cake. I was worried he might be concerned that we were cutting up Daniel Tiger, but...cake!
 Happy 2nd birthday, cute guy!

Cole's favorite color is BLUE!
He loves cars, trains, balls, and whatever someone else is playing with.
Oh, and he loves Daniel Tiger.
Cole talks a lot but isn't always understandable. Go figure, he's 2.
Cole loves his big brother, Jack. Adores his Mommy and Daddy. Yearns for his pacifier and blue lion blanket.
Naps like a champ.
Still bangs his head, but the severity is decreasing. Less often in anger, he rarely pounds his forehead into the floor when he's mad anymore. He still sits up in his crib and rocks his head back into the foot board. His crib is well-padded.
Cole loves to eat. He generally eats ravenously at one meal, but we can never predict which meal that will be. He likes to keep us on our toes.
Cole wants to help cook. ALL THE TIME. Like, we can't go into the kitchen to make anything without him grabbing for a spoon or knife or WHATEVER he can get his hands on.
"Cole-Cole" is what he calls himself.
He calls Jack "Dack" and Sheridan "Sher Bear" and Amelia "Mia." He doesn't usually call Henry anything, because Henry is the least-interested in interacting with him.
This boy has the biggest blue eyes and eyelashes that go for miles. His one dimple is endearing. His curls get comments almost everywhere we go. He rocks a suit like no one's business.
This guy is usually so very, very happy. But when he's upset, LOOK OUT! It's like a summer thunderstorm coming out of nowhere to blow your house down!
We adore our little Cole-Cole!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Christmas, Christmas time is here...

December is always a whirlwind of activities. Here's a little taste of 2014...

 Tree chosen and decorated. Tyler is all for real trees and cheap-o me breathes deep and rolls with that. There is nothing quite like the smell of a real fir tree! The kids had a ton of fun putting their ornaments on and pulling out all the decor!
The whole 2nd grade put on an abbreviated "A Christmas Carol" play for everyone to enjoy. She was thrilled (THRILLED I tell you!) to be cast in the role of "Young Belle," Scrooge's ex-fiance. 
Christmas Eve called for a turkey dinner at our place with some of our dearest friends and with Grammy and Pop. Pop made his (should be) world-famous bacon stuffing and to-die-for gravy.
 The kids ate up any time spent with Grammy and Pop! 
 Christmas morning brought the usually ecstatic chaos that 5 kiddos bring...but we still had Grammy and Pop, so it was even MORE fun! 


 Cole made off like a bandit in his new Cozy Coupe...no, really, he stole the ball from Henry and tried to make it his. Trouble is his middle name!

 Santa brought Jack an exceptionally cool night-vision scope. Now he can be a real spy!
The Martins (not pictured, because...that would require us to remember to actually TAKE pictures!) invited the whole crew up for Christmas dinner. Great-Grandpa Larry and Great-Grandma Diane were there, too! We LOVE spending time with family over Christmas (plus, dinner was super-delicious, we're no dummies about Rebecca's cooking!).
 The remainder of December found us playing hard! Mostly we played the plethora of fun games our family was gifted. We highly recommend "Dixit" (a picture-guessing game that is far more fun and quirky than it sounds) and Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel (which was great for the younger set, even if Cole does think he should try to eat the acorns...).
We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and that this New Year is treating you right!