Puppy

Cole received this soft little puppy from our dear Uncle John. Puppy quickly became Cole's favorite gift. He cuddled and kissed him immediately, smiling sweetly the entire time. He especially loved listening to the gentle lullaby Puppy plays. 12/25/ 2011.

Gift from John

Cole understands proper gift-opening etiquette -- always read (eat?) the card before opening the gift. 12/25/2011.

Books with Nana

Nana may have retired from teaching fifth graders, but she'll never tire of teaching her grandbabies. She especially loves collecting books for her little men, and it's extra fun when she has the opportunity to curl up and read to them! Cole loves to listen and help turn the pages, and we love to watch his little eyes -- you can just see the wheels cranking! 12/24/2011.

Stacking

Cole scored big in the stacking toy category this year. These cool blocks rank among his favorite toys! 12/24/2011.

Cole Performs

After some demonstration by Nana, Cole seemed to get the hang of playing his xylophone. We think you'll agree that we could have a maestro on our hands. 12/24/2011.

Nana Demonstrates

Nana shows Cole how to make beautiful music with his cool new xylophone. 12/24/2011.

Xylophone

A special present from Opa and Nana! 12/24/2011.

Present!

Cole seems to enjoy eating his way through wrapping paper rather than simply tearing. Oh well! To each his own! 12/24/2011.

Opa's Buttons

Cole, Mommy, and Daddy visited Opa and Nana in St. Joseph, Minnesota for Christmas this year. During his stay, Cole enjoyed special fun times with Opa, who is an early riser just like Cole. Opa and Cole let Mommy and Daddy sleep in while they explored the house and played. Cole especially enjoyed examining Opa's buttons. 12/23/2011.

Santa Baby

12/22/2011.

Ornament

Cole and Momma made special ornaments for Cole's first Christmas. The plan was to get Cole's cute little handprint on a cute little ornament. As you can see, the artwork didn't really come out as Momma had planned. Guess Cole's just more of an abstract kind of guy. 12/22/2011.

Eight Months Old!

Thought we forgot the 8-month picture, didn't you? Nope -- totally took it, just almost forgot to post it. Here it is! By the way, this month has been a whirlwind of fun for Cole. He has started rolling over (and all around) in bed at night, and now seems to enjoy sleeping on his tummy. He is "talking" more and more (mostly gurgly vowel and consonant sounds), and he has started signing "milk" and "light." No teeth yet (although he sure seems to be working on them), and he still doesn't seem to be inclined toward crawling, but he's a master at reaching far for objects and rolling onto his stomach to capture out-of-reach toys. His favorite game is to climb on Mommy and Daddy and bounce while standing (assisted). Much to his parents' delight, he enjoys "singing" to tunes in the car. 12/21/2011.

From Bobpa to Cole: Part 2

It's a real fire helmet! The helmet used to be Bobpa's, but Bobpa decided to pass it on to his special little buddy. He had a brand new name badge fashioned just for Cole. We're sure Cole will treasure this priceless gift for years to come. 12/22/2011.

From Bobpa to Cole: Part 1

Cole found a funny looking package under the Christmas tree. What could be inside? 12/22/2011.

A Very Cardinal Christmas

Cole pictured with Daddy's favorite Christmas present. 12/22/2011.

Cuddles with Daddy

Not feeling well, little buddy? Daddy's got the perfect medicine: Daddy cuddles. 12/18/2011.

A Very Amma Christmas

Cole and Momma enjoyed a fun Sunday morning celebrating the holiday season with their Amma Maternity buddies. It was a fun morning of Secret Santa exchanges, delicious treats, and, of course, lots of play. Here, Cole is pictured with his friends (clockwise from Cole) Eliza, Ava, Alexis and Mem. 12/18/2011.

Standing Practice

12/16/2011.

Cole Meets Santa

Every baby needs a "Baby's First Christmas" picture with Santa Claus. Mommy was rooting for Cole to burst into tears for that classic baby-meets-Santa shot, but, alas, Cole just looked unimpressed and unamused. It's ok, Cole -- you'll realize soon that Santa is, in fact, quite an interesting fella. 12/17/2011.

Puffs

The one thing he hasn't managed to get in his mouth. 12/15/2011.

Books are Belicious

12/06/2011.

Standing! (Kind of)

One of Cole's favorite new games is to practice standing (with a little help). 11/20/2011.

Attack of the Baby!

11/09/2011.

Sweet Peas

We're still not quite sure how we feel about sweet peas. 11/02/2011.

Pat-a-Cake

I'm a little behind on uploading videos, so this one's a little old. Anyhow, Pat-a-Cake is one of Cole's favorite games, and it usually elicits much laughter. Not so much here, but, well, we don't have video cameras strapped to our hats, which means we don't always capture his roaring laughter, or when he recites the alphabet backwards and skips about unassisted. You'll just have to believe us. 11/01/2011.

Lovey

12/07/2011.

Warm Winter Suit

Ready for snowflakes! 12/07/2011.

Book Worm

Cole loves reading books with Mommy and Daddy! He has favorites from time to time (we know because he'll light up when we read the title or show him the cover). Right now, his favorites are Hop by Phillis Root, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. 12/06/2011.

Fireman Bobpa

Cole made his very first trip to Bobpa's fire station over our Thanksgiving holiday weekend. He loved sitting way up high in the fire engine, trying on Bobpa's helmet, and watching the fire engine's big red lights reflect against the station door. He wasn't even scared when Bobpa tried out his ugly Darth Vader-like oxygen mask. We're sure this won't be our last visit to this exciting place! 11/27/2011.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Gramma loves to cuddle and read to Cole at bedtime. I walked in to catch her reading a slightly modified version of one of Cole's favorites, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. ". . . And on Saturday, he ate like Gramma: He ate one slice of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese . . .". 11/26/2011.

Our Little Turkey

Cole celebrated his first Thanksgiving Day in Dubuque at Gramma and Bobpa's house. He thoroughly enjoyed eating his Thanksgiving dinner (rice and green beans, pureed of course) at the dinner table with Gramma, Bobpa, Mom and Dad. We are so thankful for our healthy, happy little turkey! 11/24/2011.

Puppy

11/24/2011.

Seven Months Old!

We can hardly believe Cole is seven months old! (We know, we say that every month....) These days, he's doing fun things like moving himself in circles when he's playing on his tummy (and in bed when he's supposed to be sleeping!), smiling for the camera (we just have to say, "Smile for Momma (or Daddy)!" or sometimes just hold up the camera!), standing and bouncing in our laps (and attempting steps when we hold him in walking position), practicing his consonants, and, our favorite, exercising his self-will. He is also coming along in the world of solid foods, having mastered rice cereal and all sorts of fruits and veggies from apples to ... well, squash (we'd like to say zucchini, but he hasn't gotten to that one quite yet). We love you, little buddy! 11/21/2011.

First Snow

Cole (briefly) experienced his first snowfall this numbing November afternoon. Two mittened thumbs up. 11/19/2011.

Sippy Cup

Work in progress. 11/16/2011.

Lange Cousins! Cole and Auntie Chelsey!

Cole's most favorite Lange cousin is Auntie Chelsey, of course! 11/12/2011.

Happy Happy!

Bobpa took this delightful picture during our great Florida adventure. And, yes, Krispee Kreme doughnuts were a delicious part of our great Florida adventure. 11/12/2011.

Lange Cousins! Cole and Cousin Ryan('s Mom, Auntie Libby)!

Cousin Ryan was busy chasing his own little munchkins around, so Auntie Libby stepped in as a substitute. Did you know that Cole's first words were "Aunt Libby?" Just ask Libby -- she'll tell you. 11/12/2011.

Lange Cousins! Cole and Heidi!

Cole was happy to perch on cousin Heidi's lap. Good view of the big kids playing in the hot tub. 11/12/2011.

Lange Cousins! Cole and Evey!

Cole enjoyed playing in the sun with cousin Evey! 11/12/2011.

Lange Cousins! Cole and Betsy!

Cole loved playing with (read: yanking on) Betsy's hair! Who can blame him? 11/11/2011.

Lange Cousins! Cole and Emily!

Cole enjoyed a special Florida weekend hanging out with the Lange cousins in celebration of cousin Mary's wedding. Here, Cole and Emily! 11/12/2011.

Sicky-poo

Cole caught his first cold this week. Poor buddy. 11/3/2011.

Sounds

Cole is really starting to focus on practicing new sounds! His favorite? "Da," of course. 11/2/2011.

Because you can never have too much of a good thing . . .

10/20/2011.

Daddy Monster

The best sound ever. (Cole's laughter, not Daddy Monster's growls.) 10/20/2011.

Halloween is for Babies

We celebrated Cole's first Halloween with a little "Baby's First Halloween" party at Rachel, Dan and Izzy Pollock's. Cole had a blast. Well, until about the time this photo was taken. 10/30/2011.

Afternoon Snack

Cole continues to enjoy eating his feet, whether shoed, socked, or naked. I have a feeling this is not going to get old anytime soon. 10/28/2011.

Elf

10/27/2011.

Cole's Six-Month Photo Shoot: The Meltdown.

Did we say that Cole performed well? Well, he did . . . right up until naptime, which should have been happening right about the time this picture was taken. 10/16/2011.

Cole's Six-Month Photo Shoot: Our Precious Buddy.

We love his sweet brown eyes! 10/16/2011.

Cole's Six-Month Photo Shoot: Just a Baby on a Chair.

Cole performed quite well during his six-month photo shoot with Rebecca Oehrig of Liminality Photography (http://www.liminalityphotography.com). He looks so confused here -- but it's all just an act. He had this task nailed. 10/16/2011.

Go Hawks!

We celebrated this gorgeous October day with a walk around Lake Harriet and a Hawkeye win against Indiana. Go Hawks! 10/22/2011.

Six Months Old!

Today, our little man turned six months old! It seems like just yesterday that we were driving to the hospital, not sure whether it was really going to happen that day. Here we are, six months later, and it's been the most exhilarating, exhausting, and joyful six months of our lives. We love you so much, Cole. 10/21/2011.

Bean Bag Butt

We think our buddy has the cutest little bean bag butt! 10/19/2011.

Sweet Potato Face

Believe it or not, Cole actually consumed some sweet potatoes during this meal. 10/17/2011.

Union Jack

Cole sported his Union Jack shirt today in a little shout-out to Opa and Nana, who are spending the semester in London. He also spent a little time rocking out to Morrissey in the Roo (see previous post). We miss you, Opa and Nana! 10/13/2011.

Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy

For a little while, Cole's feet didn't quite reach the ground in his Roo, but now they're there, and he's got the jumping thing mastered! 10/13/2011.

Sweet Potatoes

Mommy's trying her hand at homemade baby food! She can't wait for Cole to taste these yummy sweet potatoes! 10/13/2011.

Choo Choo Train

Mommy is so excited -- she learned a new way to decorate shirts for Cole. This one is a choo choo train, in case you couldn't tell. 10/9/2011.

Solid Foods: One more for good measure . . .

If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times. . . . Really -- we've said it a thousand times: Good job, Cole! 10/9/2011.

Solid Foods: Take Three -- Success!

A drippy wet success, but success nonetheless! 10/9/2011.

Solid Foods: Take Two

Step 1: Prepare introductory solid foods meal (suggested choice: rice cereal; suggested temp.: room temp. or slightly warm). Step 2: Place child in high chair, ensuring child is comfortably sitting upright. Step 3: Remove distractions (such as daddies holding video cameras). 10/9/2011.

Lake Harriet

Mommy and Cole have walked around Lake Harriet almost daily this summer, so it's about time we post a picture of this favorite walking spot! This time, Mommy and Cole were joined by their buddies, Rachel and Isabel. Mommy and Rachel discovered that if they position the strollers just right, Cole and Izzy can look at each other during the walk! 10/6/2011.

Backyard Fun

10/3/2011.

This little piggy . . .

said "wee wee wee" all the way home. 10/1/2011.

Solid Foods: Take One

We thought we'd give solid foods a first shot. . . . We'll try again soon! 10/1/2011.

Naptime

Cole fell asleep during a walk around Lake Harriet. He held Sophie the Giraffe in his hand like this the entire way around the lake. 9/30/2011.

The Roo

Cole enjoys playing in his Jumperoo (a.k.a. the "Roo"). Not so much the jumping part, but whatever. 9/30/2011.

High Chair

Testing, testing, 1-2-3. 9/29/2011.

Cup! (In Action!)

Cole got a little practice with a cup today. Enjoy! 9/28/2011.

Cup!

9/28/2011.

Who says dinosaurs and monkeys can't be friends?

9/26/2011.

Tum Tum Tummy Time (feat. Daddy)

Cole and Daddy share some tum-tum-tummy time! 9/26/2011.

Bobpa's Pumpkin Pie

Cole takes some time from hanging out with his pumpkin friends to cuddle with Bobpa under the apple tree. 9/24/2011.