New Youngster

Welcome to the world, sweet Drew.

Andrew Allan Young, born 12/7/15 at 4:03pm. 8 lbs, 11 ounces and 22 inches. Like his brothers, he was born a week late with the help of a healthy dose of Pitocin.

We are all adjusting pretty well- Cole has especially surprised us with his immediate willingness to accept a baby brother. Well, almost immediate. His first reaction upon meeting Drew in the hospital was to shriek, run away into a chair and give himself a nosebleed. 

Brady, a seasoned big brother, has been as sweet as always to Drew. In stark contrast to Cole, his first reaction in the hospital was to march right up and tell Drew he loves him. 

The rest of the month has been a blur of sleep deprivation, bottles, and endless laundry as we try to find our new normal. So far, so good. 

Cole at 20 Months

Our little spitfire is going to be a big brother in four months, and my hunch is that he's not going to like it. Cole has been in a recent clingy stage and I can't picture him taking kindly to a baby in his way when he's scaling up the front of me, terrified, due to any number of horrifying things happening. These horrifying things include but are not limited to: someone ringing the doorbell, someone using a power tool outside, or the smallest clue that I might be leaving the house without him.

Always a man of extremes, when he's NOT clinging to me, Cole is a social butterfly. He loves to cruise through the grocery store saying hello ("Hewwo!!!") to fellow shoppers (especially older ladies, I suspect because he gets the most attention in return from this demographic). Once he initiates conversation, he has much more to share, some words more clear than others. Along with clear versions of Mommy, Daddy, car, thank you, baby, see you!, water, more, and 'I want ____', he also has a few words in need of translation:

Ahpee = airplane

Choo choo = train

Daaaah= dog

Whut do?= What are you doing?

Uppa = up

Luh ya= Love you

Beehee = Brady

Bobby = Grandma Bonnie

Gaga = Grandma

Peeez or Buh = Please

Radish = What's this?

Ooooooh = hug

Cole is a huge fan of Gaga, my mom, calling for her when he wakes up in the morning for weeks after she leaves and doing his best to completely monopolize screen time during our Facetime chats ("Me, Gaga!!! ME!!!"). He is also a major fan of Brady's. While they do disagree every day over something, they are the best of friends. At Brady's playgroup, Cole trails after the big boys trying to keep up and if anyone expresses annoyance at this, they quickly get told off by Brady. "He can come if he wants! He's my brother!"

Cole is a physical dude and loves to wrestle, jump and dance. Current favorite song, thanks to big brother influence, is 'Shell Shocked', a rap song written for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie. An unusual choice for a 20 month old, but he likes what he likes.

 

Brady at Four

It's so hard to believe four years have gone by!  Our big boy loves his brother, who calls 'my baby', school, Legos, cars, and planes.  He will do anything for a few minutes of ipad time or a fruit snack.  He still tops the charts in height and weight, despite a recently developed pickier palate.  He cracks us up daily with his comments and his 'concerts' (these consist of him dancing wildly to a song played on one of our phones).  

My personal favorite thing about this age is Brady's sweet desire to marry me and his occasional proposals.  How could I resist that offer?? 

Cole at 13 Months

Cole is continues to be as stubborn as he is sweet.  He *can* walk, as far as 10-ish feet that we have observed, but chooses not to walk - especially if his mother is watching.  Recently he crossed an entire room with the encouragement of his cousins and the moment Jacob said, "Aunt Lori, look!" Cole abruptly sat down and held his arms out to me to be held.  I assume that eventually his desire to explore will outweigh his stubbornness.  In the meantime, he is the fastest crawler and climber of all time.

On the sweet side, Cole is adorably affectionate and smiley.  Hug-worthy events according to Cole - before and after a diaper change, before nap and bed, and before being buckled into his carseat.  He loves to chat, although his side of the conversation is completely unintelligible except for "Mama", "Dada", and "Hi!".

Cole is currently rocking six teeth - four on top and two on the bottom.  He uses them to eat a huge quantity at every meal.  He pretty much mows down anything on his tray unless it's a vegetable... as I said, stubborn.

Cole is looking more and more like Brady to me again.

Cole

Brady

One notable difference between brothers - at this age, Brady was not nearly as content to sit on Santa's lap.  

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.