Friday, December 04, 2009

6 months old


Who can believe that Cole turned 6 months old last Monday?! (I started this blog weeks ago now and just had to fix that to "last" Monday, good intentions and all that) In some ways it seems like ages ago that we brought the tiny bundle home and had no clue what to do with him. In other ways I can't remember a time before he was part of our lives. He grows and changes week to week in ways I can't believe. Here are some random things about our 6 month old.

Cole weighs 18 lbs and 4 oz - a far cry from his 4 lbs and 14oz when we brought him home!

Cole's daily menu looks something like this:
7:15 (on the dot) he gets an 8 oz bottle
8:30-9:00ish - his baby bowl full of cereal (different kinds) and a container of fruit (different kinds) mixed in
10:00ish - 8oz bottle

12ish - a container of fruit & a container of veggies (he doesn't always eat all the veggies)
1:00ish - 8oz bottle

4:00ish - 8oz bottle
6:00ish - container of frui
t & about half a jar of a baby food "meal" (tonight it was turkey & rice) he doesn't love it yet, so only eats about half
7:00ish - 8oz bottle



Cole's favorite foods are bananas and sweet taters. He loves all fruit OTHER than peac
hes, he will not eat those! He refuses to swallow them, ever. Not a bite. I love peaches, so I will keep trying. He doesn't like green beans, but you can sneak a bite down him here and there. Carrots & peas he will eat, as long as he gets a fruit bite in between. Squash he likes pretty well and sweet taters he loves, loves, loves. He loves apple flavored cereal best, he isn't fond of oatmeal at all. We went to the stage 2 foods this week and he is loving the fruit mix choices. There were so many!

He has 2 naps usually. We
did well with the first nap being about an hour and the second being 2 hours for quite awhile a few weeks ago. Then somehow over Thanksgiving he decided he wouldn't take long naps any longer, ever. He's been taking only 2 naps that are about 45 minutes each and that's making him super tired and in bed a little earlier. He's a very good sleeper and typically sleeps from 7-7:15, regardless..... I said typically note. There are nights that he wakes up, usually b/c he's flipped on his tummy and it scares him, either late night or early morning. He usually goes back to sleep with a snack 2oz bottle though. (I know we shouldn't get him back to sleep with a bottle, but it works and who can argue with that?!) That happens very rarely now though.

Cole's favorite toys are his giraffe, thank you to a student's family from last year. You can get them at
Baby Gap or online and he loves it to pieces. They're pricey $19.99, but worth it. He has been able to hold it on his own since he was very little b/c it's light, a soft rubber material that obviously feels good on his gums b/c he knaws on it to death!

He is currently loving rattles now that
he shakes the devil out of them. A big favorite are links and we have them everywhere in our house. Every room, chair, nook & cranny, all bags (including my purse) have links in them. He loves his taggie blanket (so glad Layla & Tanner didn't like it and it was passed on to him) and plays with it a ton. Then again, he likes most of his colorful spit clothes too....but he loves tags on anything. If he finds a tag on a stuffed animal, he will chew and suck on it until it's drippy wet.

He loves bowls, his little plastic bowls he eats out of are tons of fun. He likes any toy that "crinkles", that's his favorite noise I think. We recently bought some of those mesh bag feeders where he can chew on "big people" food, ice chips, fruit, frozen fruit, cookies, whatever... through the bag. He goes back and forth between loving it and having no interest. (as I type he's gnawing on it with ice chips and loving it) We've also started giving him those messy "biter biscuit" cookies in the mesh chewie and just earlier today, on it's own. (OK, no more on his own b/c he choked on it and took a few years off my life earlier this week!)



He loves being in his entertainers. He loves, loves the giant jumpy Baby Einstein one that we bought him. We debated on the big ole contraption that jumps and are so glad we chose it. It's big and bulky, you can't really move it from room to room. But....one of his favorite thing is jumping (you'll know if you hold him) so this was perfect!! He also loves the exersaucer we borrowed from Macy Kate. It's light and easy to move from room to room. It typically "lives" in the bathroom where he stays when I am getting ready in the mornings, I think b/c he's not in it very much it stays new to him. I highly recommend everyone with a little guy or gall, borrow one from a friend to have in the bathroom or kitchen as something new and different to do.

Since Cole was little he's enjoyed "kicky" time. That's what we say when he lays down on a blanket in the middle of the floor. He likes to "kicky kicky kick" and boy does he. He's always liked his back best, much to his doctors dismay. . Now that he's a rolly polly baby though, he doesn't stay in one place long! He rolls from one end of the living room to the other in minutes. He is playing with the Wii, eating Christmas presents and getting too close to comfort for Gizmo. (Who wants to be close and watch him, but has no desire to be grabbed and nibbled on) He can scoot super fast on his back, like an inch worm. He can't figure creeping or crawling out for anything though. He lays on his tummy and kicks - arms straight out by his side - face into the ground - looking very much like a fish out of water. Both his Daddy & Grumpy has suggested he might be a fantastic swimmer.

Cole rolling away- he can get away so fast by rolling.....









Cole likes his bed and will play there with a toy if I need to run throw clothes in the was
her or dryer. He lays there in the morning talking to himself and rolling around for about 15 minutes before I go get him. It's fun to watch him on the video monitor. (one of the BEST baby products we own) He has been sleeping there since he was 2 months old and it couldn't have been easier or a better choice.

Cole had outgrown the swing we had, so it's now retired to the basement - soon to be stored at my parents house. He is loving the one we bought for his Grandparents house though. They never used it (he's rare
ly put down there, imagine that) so we brought it home. He likes to spend a few minutes watching cartoons in it or taking one of his naps there. He's always liked to swing, since he was just 1 weeks old.





















Cole loves lights! He loves ceiling
lights, lamps, Christmas tree lights and Disney World (and the mall) fascinate him! He loves music and anything on TV with music catches his eye. Ceiling fans are amazing to him, he notices them everywhere we go. If they aren't on, he looks at us with a "are they broke?" look on his face. He is crazy friendly and doesn't meet a stranger. One our mall outing to see Santa a few weeks ago the boy schmoozed women left and right. Younger women, older women, didn't matter to him. He laughs, smiles, bats those eyelashes and coos like crazy!!

He's a talker and makes noises from the second he wakes up, until he's out for the night. He grunts, growls, coos, babbles, squeals like crazy and we keep thinking (5 times now) that he has said "Hey".... seriously? Could that be his first word or does it just sound like that? I'm thinking he is going to be quite the little talker, I don't know WHERE he would get that from??!!!

Cole absolutely loves Sesame Street. We've been watching for quite awhile. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't sit still and watch from beginning to end. It is his favorite thing on TV though an
d we have about 30 episodes on DVR that we watch over and over and over. NO ONE was more thrilled they started their new season in November than me!! I forgot how much I loved the show and how very educational it is, I've become a huge PBS fan..but that's another blog. Cole's favorite by far is Elmo. The voice, the red, the eyes...loves him! And when we play with Elmo Live in the store....oh my stars! Christmas is coming.... Other things he will stop from time to time to watch are "Super Why", "Dinosaur Train", "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and "Praise Baby" or "Baby Einstein" DVDs... Oh and "Price is Right" with his Granny!

This picture was in September, but it shows him totally involved in Sesame Street!!
He doesn't fit in his little Bumbo anymore, he throws himself wildly out of it.



Cole's favorite color is red, it really holds his attention. He wants to go all the time and will go to anyone that is standing up! He loves outside, trees are so very interesting. He likes to ride in his stroller now that he sits like a big boy, just be sure you keep moving. He likes to be read too and sits with big eyes listening. He loves doggies and likes to watch Gizmo & Millie to see what they are up too. He likes bath time now and is beginning to really splash in the tub!

He's now grabbing anything and everything within reach. He latches onto anyone's glasses with a death grip. He will grab for your neck and leaves wounds, he's all boy. He will put your finger in his mouth to test out his new tooth if you aren't careful. Yeah and he has a tooth now! We say a "first tooth", but since he was born with one....I guess that's not technically accurate. His Daddy tells him that he can keep this one for a little while. Thankfully so far, teething hasn't been a huge issue. He chomps on things more and more, pulls his ears a little more, but generally speaking it hasn't been too bad.

(you're suppose to see his tooth inside the little heart, may be hard to see here)



So there you have it. We sit in marvel daily at how much he's changed from the itty bitty baby we brought home in June. We hold our grea nephew, baby Jack, and are certain "Cole was never this small". (though Cole was 2 lbs smaller) It's crazy to think about, a miracle every day! God has blessed us with loaning us HIS precious gift, we are grateful and blessed!!

2 weeks & 6 mths























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