Drummer Boy

Cole's feeling percussive.  7/19/2012.

Fifteen Months Old!

We think Cole is officially a "big boy" at 15 months old (despite the thumb-sucking you see above).  And big boys equal big fun!  Much of Cole's energy has been spent on perfecting his walking . . . and running!  He pretty much mastered the walking right away (as he should have, after all those months of cruising practice!), and has since begun picking up the pace.  Let's just say Cole hasn't quite perfected the art of running yet, and has the bumps and bruises to prove his lack of skill.  The little guy thinks his legs are moving faster than they are, and he tends to get a bit ahead of himself.  This results in him, well, literally getting ahead of himself, and tumbling face-first into walls, floors, doors, you-name-it.  In other news, Cole continues to love tickles and giggles, which of course makes our day, every day.  One of Daddy's new favorite games is to start laughing (guffawing, really) at nothing in particular, and Cole will start giggling hysterically right along with him.  I guess our little guy is not immune to the contagion that is laughter.  Cole has also taken up a few new hobbies.  First, he is "cooking" and loves it.  Come on over and ask him to cook you something, and he will oblige by getting his sweet little hands on the first spoon (or drumstick, he's not choosy) and bowl he can find.  He will start stirring away and will almost certainly offer you a bite of his pretend concoction.  Second, Cole has been loving art projects lately, which is super fun for Mom.  He doesn't always get the correct end of the marker on the paper, and often would rather eat crayons than draw with them, but once he sees his utensil create a mark on the paper in front of him, he expresses a great amount of joy in his creation!  Third, he's really getting into dancing.  Whenever he hears a song with a good beat, he'll start bobbing right along and sometimes even starts shuffling his feet a little.  He definitely has his preferences, and if you ask us, he seems to have pretty good taste in music so far.  On the language front, Cole's favorite word is still "ball," and his favorite kind of ball is the basketball.  He's trying really, really hard to say it, but it always comes out something like "ba-ba-ball."  And, man, he goes nuts when he sees one:  He's all, "Ba-ba-ball!  Ba-ba-ball!!  Bababababallllll!!!!!"  It's adorbs.  Other current faves are "cracker" (sounds just like it!), "banana" (more like "nana") and "cheddar bunny" (sounds nothing like "cheddar bunny," but somehow I know what he's saying).  Oh, and notice a theme?  He's loving food (mostly bananas and grains, but he's still pretty good with meat, fish and veggies, too, knock on wood).  Cole is also mastering parts of the body and will point to his nose, head, toes and ears when asked.  Not so quick on the eyes, but, really, who wants to get poked in the eyes, let along poke himself in the eyes?  Can't blame him.  One more thing:  Cole has taken to gleefully yelling, "Weeee!!!!" when he gets excited during play.  Weeee!!!!!!  7/21/2012. 

Bongo

Cole and Colin love making use of their Denver Zoo passes, a gift from Nana.  Today, they enjoyed playing the bongos over by the primates.  We love our little monkeys!  7/21/2012.

Artiste

He wanted to call it "Water Lilies" and seemed a little miffed when I explained the possibility of confusion with another artist's well known work.  For now, we'll call it "A Study in Wrist Control."  7/15/2012. 

Proof!

He's walking!  The first steps (about 5) happened on June 20th, but July 1st was when he really started going.  Here's proof that our buddy is officially a toddler.  7/1/2012.

Independence Day

Happy Birthday, America!  Cole celebrated this Independence Day at two -- yes, two! -- parades.  Our favorite part?  Watching the Hastings High School (from Minnesota!) band march their brass through the Park Hill neighborhood in Denver.  Especially fun?  Cheering loudly for our Minnesota friends, only to find that we were surrounded by Minnesotans, who, upon hearing our cheers, began to root along with us.  Go Minnesota!  Go America!  7/4/2012. 

Cole and Colin

Cole and Colin spent some quality time together at the cabin over the weekend.  Cole loves to watch and follow his cousin.  What great buds!  7/1/2012.

Ball

And a victory dance.  6/24/2012.

Fourteen Months Old!

Our big boy is fourteen months old!  The past month has mostly involved a lot of getting into the groove in Denver.  Cole continues to enjoy (read: love!) his daycare center, especially his teachers, Dawn and Lisa.  He is so funny when we arrive in the morning -- he always waves and gives a big smile to the women who sit at the front desk, and continues to wave down the hall as he passes teachers from other classrooms.  He's a star, he is.  Cole continues to suprise us with new words, and really watches us and his teachers as we read to him.  It is fun to observe him practice as he whispers sounds softly to himself.  Recent additions to his vocabulary include "bubble," "purple," and "star," although "ball" is still by far his favorite.  Speaking of "ball," Cole's throw is getting really good!  He can't get enough of playing ball with Mommy and Daddy (or anyone else who will entertain a game).  We think he would roll, throw and chase one of his many balls far into the night if we didn't insist on ushering him upstairs for his nightly bath (also one of his favorite parts of the day -- until we take him out to dry him off, that is).  In other exciting news, Cole took his first steps this month, and we think he's going to be walking up a storm really soon!  6/21/2012.

Snack with Daddy

Just a little snack with Daddy at Cole's new friend Phoebe's birthday party.  6/16/2012. 

Buddy in a Basket

 

One of Cole's favorite pastimes involves dumping all the toys out of his toy basket and climbing right in.  6/2/2012. 

Stacking

Cole, Master Stacker.  5/24/2012.

Bear!

Cole loves bear watching at the cabin!  5/18/2012.

Swing

We're lucky to have this sweet little park by our house.  Cole loves to swing!  5/21/2012.