9 months old

Ok, a few days late on this again and haven't taken his "official" pictures yet, but here are some other recent ones. There aren't a whole lot of changes since last month and some of these actually happened last month and I forgot to add them to that post:). Cole LOVES to drink from a straw (maybe because I am still 5 and LOVE to drink from one too) and likes his straw cup (like a sippy but with a straw) more than the typical sippy cup. Since I have heard it can be difficult to wean off sippies, we are just going to go with the straw then! The funny part is you would think I gave him a pina colada or something but it is just water...never had juice or anything...just water! He had his first "meat" this past week...sweet potatoes and turkey...yummy, like Thanksgiving in a jar! It honestly wasn't too terrible but I think I will try to add beans for protein too. We are crawling with our tummy off the floor a little bit but in the wrong direction and can only go forward army crawling. I think I am going to buy some double-sided tape to attach to this child because with all the wiggling he does, he always finds lint or my hair (shocked that I am not bald with all the hair on the ground) despite vaccumming. He still enjoys smiling for the camera and now has the habit of sticking his tongue out....


And since the weather was warmer earlier this week, I would leave the back door open which turned into a wonderful and exciting game of peek-a-boo and a fascination with mini blinds...


We were also lucky enough to visit with both great-grandparents in the past 2 weeks, which there are pictures of just not on my computer (reminder, get those from Mom). Our top 2 teeth have almost finished coming in and don't quite look like bubba teeth as much as they did in the beginning. He loves to crawl up to you and untie your shoe laces. And lastly he still LOVES the dog and the dog LOVES him! Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Hurricane Cole

We are not "officially" crawling yet (which in my book is tummy off the floor and moving with decent speed) but someone is sure on the move and can make a mess! Ok, so we started out by the blocks on the lower left side of the picture then went between the rocker and ottoman to remove several books from the book shelf. My title for the first two pictures is "Look what I did Ma!". He was a little warm from all that activity (cool mornings and warm afternoons have resulted in mid-day wardrobe changes!) so I took off his pants so he could cool off. The final picture is me trying to capture the width of those thighs! The boy has a few rolls but alot of that is pure muscle!

Shades

Some of you readers have commented about the lack of photos of myself on this blog. There are 2 reasons for this: 1. I am typically taking the pictures and 2. I have self-esteem issues stemming from the annoying 3 lb spare tire that would get me back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Anyways, here is one picture of me and Cole from a walk a few weeks ago when the weather was sunny and cold. Aren't we stylin' in our shades?:) Poor baby will need new shades soon as those are tight on his head! I also included a picture of my two- and four-legged boys. Russell can quote pretty much every line in the movie Top Gun and I like the movie too as it was when Tom Cruise was good looking and not weird. So when we saw the shirt below (which has the Top Gun plane and the phrase "Daddy's Little Wingman") on it, we had to buy it!

Looking sharp for our walk.

My wonderful boys.

8 months old

Ok, technically 8 months and 1 1/2 weeks as I am late on this post. Time sure has flown! We just completed our first overnight trip with baby in tow when we went to Fort Worth last week for a conference for Russell's work. We had a little snow and a fire alarm test during nap time, but I was glad Cole and I went because we would have missed Russell for almost a week and we enjoyed visiting with some of the other ranger wifes/friends that were there. Before we left, I took the pictures below. I have some other good ones but really need to get and learn how to use Photoshop for my birthday as they are a little dark (still learning the whole natural light thing...). As I learn to use my big girl camera, Cole is learning so much as well! He has been wiggling around in a circle and backwards for a few weeks and started army crawling last week (have video that I will try to post soon...difficult to capture though because the little toot stops crawling and smiles/poses when he sees the camera!). His pincer grasp is getting stronger but not quite there yet...need to introduce puffs I guess! He prefers nursing still over solid foods but that might change next week when I introduce him to the wonderful world of spices! He hates being cleaned up after eating and all his fidgeting results in leftover food particles on his face and hands that the weinie dog takes care of later:) He loves reading books, feeling the pages, turning the pages, chewing on the pages and does not care for the 2 book limit before nap time. He still dislikes going to sleep and prefers cuddling when he is asleep but we are trying to wean him of that (I laid down with him earlier and he has been asleep for over 20 minutes while I type on this which is pretty good for us!) He loves the outdoors and taking it all in on walks (on the few days the weather has allowed lately) and while riding in the jogging stroller with Mama running at blazing speeds....or more like running at slow speeds....or better described as jogging...ok, ok most days it is pretty fast walking but you try to go very fast while pushing a stroller uphill into the wind! He LOVES the dog and Baxter has been very tolerant of the grabbing and pulling for which I am very thankful. Well, the little dreamer is now awakening, so more later...enjoy the pictures and the sunshine!

I love how his smile is developing with his two bottom teeth and one top tooth which you can't see in pictures yet.

So alot of his winter clothes are getting too small, hence the belly shot. If someone knows why department stores put winter clothes out in July and up in December when they put out spring clothes even though we still have days where we struggle to get out of the 40s, then please let me know!

It's a little dark but I love how they are both looking the same direction:)

Country livin'

Ok, I will do a post on how our little guy is 8 months old today later when I have more time and because I wanted to go ahead and get these pictures up from last weekend. A few rays of sunshine peeked through the clouds so we decided to get outside and go to the country (plus there were some mud puddles Russell wanted to investigate with his truck!). It was still a little cool but the fresh air felt wonderful and Russell took some amazing sunset pictures.

My country boys!

Cows at sunset

Just like Dada

I saw this onesie on Old Navy's website and knew we had to get it. Unfortunately the baby boy section at our Old Navy is crummy so my Mom-ma ordered this for Cole for Christmas. It says "Big and Strong just like Daddy". After taking the first two pictures, I took a random picture while doing laundry. Those socks happened to be piled next to each other and I thought it was cute how much perspective it brought to the size difference and how we aren't quite as big as Dada yet!

Whatcha lookin' at?!

Chillin' with my Dada Big boy sock vs. little boy sock

Buddies - pillow fight

Poor Baxter. The older and more mobile Cole gets (we can wiggle 360 degrees and backwards plus roll across a room!), the less "me" time Baxter gets. A majority of Baxter's day is spent looking out the front window barking at people, cars, birds, bugs, and air. He has lost his "perch" (my papasan..spelling?..chair) since he hurt his back and just has these pillows to sit on to look outside and sunbathe, when the sun actually comes out. It's a rough life, I know. He had this room to himself until we moved the computer desk in here when we turned the computer room into the nursery. So when I work on the computer some during the day, Cole plays on the floor next to Baxter. Here is what happened the other day...

First and foremost a posed shot for Mom. Even the dog child knows to look at the camera:)

Baxter: "Kid, you better back up off this pillow if you know what is good for you. I remember what you did yesterday...."

(Yes, he is holding the tail)

"Ok, that's it. Maybe a thorough licking will teach you whose pillows these are!"