Cole at 12 Months

Cole is a year old!  The last twelve months have passed so quickly- I can't believe his birthday is already here.  

Cole is our little spitfire.  He is quick to laugh, quick to lose his temper, and keeps us on our toes always.  He spends a lot of time trying to climb things/climb out of things, escape contained areas, throw himself off of tall things, put foreign objects in his mouth, you name it.  Recently he climbed out of his car seat and dove face first onto the pavement from the 4Runner... Mercifully he was completely fine other than a nose scrape but I think it took ten years off my life.

For someone so adept at climbing, surprisingly Cole still prefers crawling as his mode of transportation.  He took his first steps about a month ago and now he'll take up to 5 steps at a time when encouraged, but unless there's an audience waiting to applaud, he doesn't bother.

This little dude fuels his high-energy days by eating us out of house and home.  He's still drinking five bottles a day but also regularly eating more food than Brady at meals.

Cole is as affectionate as he is energetic and loves to be hugged, kissed and held.    He'll crawl up for an embrace and then race off to wreak havoc somewhere, only to return a few minutes later for another kiss.  

It's hard to remember our lives without this feisty little boy.  Happy birthday, sweet Cole!

Cole at 10 months

Dear future Cole, I'm sorry I skipped your 8 and 9 month posts.  Please let the photo above serve as evidence that you were perfectly happy during this time even though your mother was neglecting the documentation of your milestones. ;)

Cole is now crawling, cruising and chowing down on all kinds of finger foods- black beans and butternut squash  are favorites.  He still takes two big naps and sleeps well at night.  He loves to play with Brady and any of Brady's toys that he can get ahold of... and Brady is enjoying a renaissance of baby toys.  It's not unusual to find Cole playing with a Hot Wheels while Brady tinkers with the music table.  Whatever makes you happy, boys.

I keep saying I'm going to cut Cole's hair and then chickening out...it tends to arrange itself into a natural faux hawk while he sleeps and will not be tamed.  

Cole is starting to give kisses on request- or his version of them.  When asked for a kiss, he offers his forehead to the requestor in a very regal manner.  We take what we can get.  Brady particularly loves to shower Cole with affection and often punctuates a hug or kiss with the exclamation, "we're BROTHERS!".  Cue heart melting. 

Cole at 7 Months

This little dude is keeping us on our toes! Mostly happy go lucky, his temper does flare sometimes... Major, meltdown-worthy infractions include being left alone in a room, being made to wait briefly for food, and being set down in a seated position rather than allowed to hold onto someone's hands and stand.  The only family member who never raises Cole's ire is Brady, who can do no wrong.  We'll enjoy that as long as we can. :)

A recent growth spurt has Cole in 12 month clothes and desperate to become mobile.  He's babbling and screeching up a storm, occasionally rolling back to front (not a fan at ALL of being on his back or his tummy these days) and still sleeping like a champ.  This month he has traveled to San Diego and Sunriver and has been a dream in the car!  We are so lucky to have this sweet boy.

Cole at 6 Months

Can't believe this feisty little dude is already halfway to a year old!  Weighing in at 18 lbs, 15 oz, he's gobbling up formula and baby food like a champ and sitting up on his own.  

Cole's favorite activity is holding on to someone's hands and standing up.  By my estimation his plan is to skip rolling and crawling and go straight to walking.  This is based on his complete and utter disinterest in being laid on his back or his tummy, ever.  He never even attempts to roll over because he is busy wailing at the great injustice that someone might have something else to do besides assist him in his walking efforts.  He's a determined guy. :)

When not standing or screaming, Cole has been babbling up a storm- his favorite is "mamama", but he mixed in a "dadada" on Father's Day, which was timely.  Looking forward to a fun summer with this guy and his big brother!

Cole at Five Months

At five months, Cole has just returned from his first trip to Gaga and Grandpa's house.  He was perfect on the plane and didn't make a peep.  Lately I'm finding that as long as Cole is being held, he is happy.  As soon as you put him down it's another story.  While Brady was happy to lounge in his jumperoo for 30-40 minute stretches, Cole has a maximum of 5 minutes before sounding like he is being tortured.  He expects attention and if it's not on him, he demands it.  Yesterday he began using consonants in his baby speak and while crying to be held he now yells, "Ni ni niiiiiiiiiiii" in despair.  Despite his flair for drama, we'll keep him.

On the eating front, Cole is a major baby food fan.  Sweet potatoes are his current favorite but this morning he was reaching for Brady's Cheerios, so maybe not for long.  

I love to show Brady baby pictures of himself and ask him who it is- usually he thinks it's Cole.  I see a resemblance between the two of them but only in certain photos.

Believer

Cole was stoic through his first Easter bunny meeting.  As for Brady, he was cool as a cucumber.  As we got back into the car I asked, "So, what'd you think of the Easter bunny?" to which Brady nonchalantly replied, "He's real."

Cole at Four Months

Weighing in at 13 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 26 inches long, Cole is still our long, lean, string bean.  His metabolism must be outstanding because he eats plenty!  After the doctor gave the go-ahead at his four month checkup he started eating food and so far has tried prunes, carrots and peas.  Each new food has been met with interest and then promptly oozed down his chin and onto his shirt and chair.  I am unconvinced that he's actually swallowed any of it.

In other news, Cole started rolling over this month (front to back).  He loves being tickled, kissed, and held.   He takes a pacifier at nap time and at night and hates when it falls out of his mouth before he's fallen asleep.  Cole continues to be a great sleeper- napping twice during the day and sleeping 11 hours at night.  

Below is Brady at 4 months.  I still see flashes of resemblance between the boys and it would seem that Brady does too- when I asked him who is in this picture he responded, "Cole, but he's bigger."

Cole at 3 Months

Cole is three months!  Weighing in at almost 12 pounds, he is on the slight side weight-wise, but in the 75th height percentile - our long lean eating machine.   Cole continues to be a champion sleeper, usually clocking 10-11 hours at night.  

Aside from desperately trying to figure out how to suck his thumb, this little guy's new favorite activity is sitting in his Bumbo chair.  When he gets his head control dialed in, we'll bust out the jumperoo and rock his world.  

Colton at Two Months

It's already hard to imagine our life before Cole.  What did I do between 5:00pm and 10:00pm when I wasn't holding/feeding a screaming baby?  ;). Despite his long witching hour, we wouldn't trade this guy.  Once he wraps up his wailing, he sleeps like a champ, usually falling asleep at 10:00 and waking anywhere from 6-9 hours later.  He's sweet, mellow and loves to smile- even chuckling a little sometimes.  He's happy to ride along to all Brady's social engagements and doesn't mind the car seat.  Speaking of Brady, Cole seems to think he's pretty great- he always has big smiles for Brady and loves to hear his voice.  The newest development in Cole's world is the discovery of his hands.  Several times a day he gives them a good examination to make sure they haven't changed.  So far he hasn't taken to thumb sucking the way his big brother did (and still does!), but it wouldn't surprise me if it happened soon.  For now he likes a pacifier but can't always keep it from falling out, to his great annoyance.  #babyproblems, right?

Brady and Cole, two months.  I don't see any resemblance anymore!  These photos make Cole look bigger than Brady was at the same age, but at 11 lbs 4 oz, Cole is almost 2 lbs smaller.  He makes up for it in height and head circumference though- 23.5 inches and 15.75 inches, respectively.

Brothers

We have been so proud of Brady's sweetness toward Cole.  So far, there's no jealousy- just love, excitement over being a big brother, and protectiveness.  Brady will often place himself near the car seat like a little bodyguard if he thinks someone might reach in without permission, and I'm frequently warned to, "be really careful with him, Mom".  The tune may change when Cole is old enough to be interested in Brady's toys, but for now we are enjoying the love!

Closing Out 2013

One thing about having a baby during the holidays is, there isn't much down time during that first month!  We came home from the hospital and Christmas was right around the corner.  Thank goodness for Amazon, because I had done almost no shopping.  Nothing like the last minute. :). 

This year, my parents, brother and sister in law joined us so Cole got to spend his first Christmas with both sides of his family.  Allan and Alison brought their chocolate lab and Sev was in heaven.

We were lucky to have Bryan home with us for over a month!  It was such a nice transition into being a family of four.

Before we knew it, it was 2014.  Looking forward to seeing what this new year brings- 2013 will be hard to top!

He's New Here

New guy in town!  We welcomed Colton "Cole" William Young to our family on December 9, 2013.  8.0 lbs and 21.5 inches, our favorite Christmas gift arrived sunny side up at 5:25pm after a 41 week induction.  He's been taking it pretty easy on us- after the first week, he began sleeping nice long stretches at night.  Those long stretches are preceded by a fussy evening, but I can't complain.  We are so happy to have this guy around, we don't mind the screaming *too* much. :)

Cole (top), Brady (bottom), one day old.