Seventeen Months Old!

Hard to believe that this kid is this old already! It's been a crazy month--we actually waited a few days on his Guido pictures this month because we closed on our new house on September 25, so his actual 17th "month-day" was pretty crazy with packing, cleaning, and getting ready to leave behind renting for the time being (hopefully forever, but you never know).

Cole has grown by leaps and bounds this month, both physically and mentally. One of his favorite sayings is "on your mark, get set, go!" Coming out of his mouth, however, it sounds more like "taco, taco," which is just way too cute. He discovered his belly button (his "buddit"), and he never seems to tire of showing us (and anyone else around) where it is. He can be very polite, saying "he go" (going for "here you go") when he hands us something, and saying "niiiiice" (imagine Eric Cartman from South Park) when he puts down his milk cup gently and without splashing it everywhere. And he's friendly as all get out, waving to everyone as we walk in an out of daycare, a restaurant, or just about anywhere else we go. He's getting to know his stuffed animals better, asking specifically for "Geedo" the orangutan, "Teddy" the bear, or "Lammie" the lamb. He still loves sports, and has been having a lot of fun throwing and rolling the football to Daddy. His artistic side continues to blossom, too, as he loves his art projects at home and at school, when he'll "pat pat pat" some leaves to get the glue to stick to a piece of paper or further develop his abstract painting skills. Oh, and he's quite the dancer--he loves spinning in a circle (he'll do this while holding his football sometimes, and then put the football on the ground like an adorable touchdown dance).

On the negative side of things, he got some bug at daycare that he promptly gave to his mom and dad, starting an epic month-long cold cycle where we kept getting each other sick. Not fun. And he still loves drinking his bathwater, which upsets his stomach, but apparently, kids this age aren't so terrific at listening to reason.

And there's one more thing: Cole had his first kiss at daycare! Apparently, the class was playing outside, and some little minx grabbed Cole's arm, pulled him behind the shed, and gave him a smooch. Word is, he was pretty surprised, but when this rather forward young woman tried it again a few minutes later, he was fully on board and kissed her right back. Not sure how to deal with this. We're still processing the news. Weren't we supposed to have like 15 more years before this kind of stuff was happening? In any event, it's so much fun to watch this kid's personality develop. He's got a good heart, and that's what matters the most. 9/30/2012.