Sitting Up!

Cole's been working at perfecting his balance over the past few weeks and has been getting pretty good at sitting by himself. This was taken today as he held himself upright for well over 5 minutes. Duke (the dog) even made the picture, although it doesn't look like he was quite ready for it!
This afternoon Cole and I found ourselves at the mall yet again. He wouldn't settle in for his afternoon nap so rather than trying to keep him happy at home for hours on end we took off to do some "window shopping" or so Jeff would like to believe! I think if Cole could talk he would entitle mall time as "make as much noise as you can so people look at you then give them a big smile and they'll smile back at you and say how cute you are!"

Weekend Fun!

On Saturday we got to make a visit to see Cole's great grandparents in Woodstock. He had lots of smiles and lots of energy. He kept trying to jump, I'm starting to think the jumperoo is a neccessity that we're going to have to lug around with us wherever we go! Grandma Barb made a fantastic lunch that we enjoyed before heading back to Windsor.

On Sunday, my parents who were in town for their anniversary, dinner and a show, came by for lunch. Cole had his second big episode of seperation anxiety... when I brought him into the kitchen to see Grandma and Grandpa the bottom lip came out then he burst into tears and started wailing. It took a couple minutes for him to calm down but then he was eager to be held and played with! (the first time he had seperation anxiety was a couple days before this when I took him into my work and Tracy (Katie's Mom) went to go hold him) I hope this stage doesn't last long... such big tears for such a little boy:(

Cole's New Ride!

With Cole growing as fast as he has we found we had to upgrade to a new carseat sooner than we had anticipated. This is a Britax Marathon... and supposed to be one of the safest brands available (although in truth, we didn't do the research but know a couple people who have!) He seems to like that the seat is a little more roomy than his previous one.

Last Weekend

I've been slacking on the updates lately so this one is over a week and a half old.
My friend Alison came down to stay for a long weekend. It's almost possible to stay on top of everything around the house with an extra pair of hands! And Cole loves having someone new to play with. On Sunday we even got out for a good day of shopping! Cole went to his sitter Katie's house for the second time and did really well once again... he just loves being around all the kids and being part of the action there! As for me, I had a successful day shopping and with Alison's help picked up some nice things to update my closet a bit.

More Visiting!

Cole did so well travelling on the drive up to my parents that on the way home we decided to risk making a couple more stops.
First stop... Wingham! (only about a 15min drive from my parents place) Pictures of Alison's Mom and Grandma Shirley who both got to meet Cole for the first time.
We were also really glad that we finally got to stop in and see Jeff's Uncle Roger and his new condo in Strathroy. He's been busy renovating it and it looks fantastic!

more of Cole with family...

Cole enjoying a new view on Grandpa's shoulders (left)


Cole sampling some of Grandpa's organic garlic (right)

Above: Uncle Ben and Uncle Daniel hanging out with Cole on Sunday AM

Below: Cole with Grandma and Grandpa

The Sunday that we were at home I celebrated my 27th birthday. Mom and Dad offered to look after Cole while we headed out in the afternoon to a Coffee Culture in Wingham. Later on my "still full from Thanksgiving" stomach somehow made more room for some delicious birthday cake Mom had made!

Too Funny!

A shot we were suprised to find on our camera... Grandpa had put his glasses on Cole and taken this one when we weren't there! What an expression on Cole's face that he captured!!!

I've added in pictures of Cole's cousins, Caitlin and Mackenzie at 11mths with the famous glasses... looks like it's turning into a bit of a tradition!

Thanksgiving Dinner

like a page out of Martha Stewart!
Uncle David and Cole... his thanksgiving shirt still fit although the sleeves were a little short!

Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squash, and later, pumpkin pie... all the foods a great Thanksgiving dinner is made of, and oh so good!

Grandma playing pat-a-cake with Cole's feet... lots of laughs

My grandparents were able to make it for dinner as well. My grandma's sister (above) was visiting from Holland. She had been a really big birthday suprise for Grandma who didn't know she was going to be coming! Later on in the evening more family came for dessert and to celebrate her birthday.
We missed the parts of our "Americanized" family this weekend... Sarah, Miriam, Matt and the girls. Looking forward to seeing all of them come Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This picture of Cole taken almost a month ago now. I was unsure whether it would still fit him for the actual holiday--we'll have to try it on again to see!
Tomorrow we are heading up to Mom and Dad's for the weekend. Not looking forward to the 4+ hr drive but definetely looking forward to seeing family, a good meal and some extra arms to hold Cole!
It's been a bit of a rough week. Cole's been adjusting to full time wear of his helmet and if that weren't enough I think he's teething although I don't see anything yet. His naps have been almost non-existent the past couple days and are very short when I do get him to settle in (and by short I mean 5-15 minutes--doesn't really count as a nap, does it?!!) Well, we're muddling through! And in the spirit of Thanksgiving I guess it's a good time to look at some positives that I'm most thankful for:
a healthy happy baby who still sleeps through the night
mornings when I go in at 7am and find him awake in his crib playing with his feet then I usually get a big smile (my favourite part of the day!)
Jeff, who is such a great daddy to Cole and husband to me... so thankful for all he does to make things go smoother for all of us
family and friends for their love and support, because this baby stuff isn't always easy!

The New Hardware!

We made another trip to Detriot this afternoon to pick up Cole's helmet. We had a much better trip there and back this time around. Cole did so much better travelling and our newly purchased GPS performed well (last time we got a little lost!) Here's a picture, from this evening, of Cole wearing his helmet.

Jeff and I are both ecxited for a bit of a break TOGETHER tomorrow as we are leaving Cole with a sitter for the first time! If things go well we are looking forward to doing this a few times this winter as we are really wanting to get things going with basement renovations. Before we know it Cole will be crawling, then walking, and our living space is already feeling a little small with all the toys!

Going Blonde?!!

The past week or so we've been noticing Cole's hair beginning to lighten. Right now it's mostly on the top of his head and looking at it closely you can see all the light blonde hair that's filling in everywhere even though the dark hair is still there too. I'm actually a little sad... I'm so used to him with dark hair. I'm sure I'll grow to love his blonde hair though!