Our week so far...

Cole changes so much everyday but in particular these past couple of weeks. He no longer wants anything to do with his exersaucer or jumperoo which he previously adored. Now, a majority of the time he fusses unless you stand him up! He can support his own weight fine (pictures above from this morning) but doesn't have enough balance to really move about on his own yet. I don't know if he's going to do the whole crawling bit... he doesn't show any signs of working towards it and I've read that some babies skip that milestone. Actually, Cole's sitter Katie never crawled, just started walking a little earlier than others and it never affected her. This afternoon we took a trip to Toys R Us and picked up a little harness thing they have there called "walking wings" we just tried it out tonight and I think it's going to help our backs out if this carries on for much longer! Will post a picture soon. Below, more pictures from earlier this week.

don't know about the "good ALL year" shirt but he is napping sooo much better with the static radio so mommy couldn't be happier for the time being!

snuggling with his bear

Another Christmas Photoshoot!

We decided today might also be a good day to attempt to get a few more pictures for christmas. Here are a couple that didn't turn out so well, but good for a laugh. He wasn't having anything to do with the santa hat this time around and pulled it right over his eyes as soon as I put it on him! And yes, we did end up with one good picture:)

Another Cat Lover!

Jeff says it's only because I make such a big deal when Austin (our cat) is around that Cole has developed a fascination with him. I think the fact that he's the same size as Cole and sometimes likes to play with his toys has more to do with it than anything. Pictures from this AM above as Cole and Austin play with his turtle that he received for xmas from Jeff's work. Whatever the reason they definitely like each other. Austin is alot more tolerant with Cole than I ever would have guessed he could be. If anyone else irritates him he doesn't hesitate to let you know it with a quick bite. (and Jeff and me have been bitten a few times!) Cole, on the other hand will get ahold of his ears, whiskers or a good handful of fur and just pull and Austin ignores it for the most part, if it gets too much for him he just walks away.

On the subject of family pets I should also catch you up with what what our dog, Duke's been up to. He spends alot more time in the basement now as Jeff has now gotten renovations underway here. When it comes to Cole, Duke mostly keeps his distance since he knows he's not supposed to touch Cole. When Cole tries to pet him he even backs away... I'm sure when Cole gets a little older they'll both use up lots of energy running around together... my guess is that Cole will be chasing after Duke!

We had a bit of a rough patch earlier this week when Cole woke up in the middle of the night two nights in a row... I ended up having to take him back our bed to get him to go back to sleep, and Jeff had to move to the guest room. Cole had been pulling on his one ear quite a bit and on wednesday when he started having a runny nose we took him into the doctors thinking it might be an ear infection. Thankfully it wasn't, just excess ear wax apparently, which we're helping to get out with the use of peroxide drops. Now he seems to be sleeping well, in fact, better than before since we've now started using a static radio for white noise.

This morning Daddy and Cole went swimming, I went along to help out with Cole but just watched. I was hoping Jeff would feel comfortable going by himself with Cole but admittingly I find it tough to do when I go by myself with him during the week... so no mommy swim breaks just yet.

Right now Cole has settled in for a nap, hopefully a long one. The plan for today is to get all my pre-pregnancy wardrobe sorted and back into my closet. Slowly some have been drifting upstairs as I fit back into them in the past few months. Now, I have finally lost all 45lbs pregnancy weight... woohoo! (putting it on, I was extremely doubtful this day would ever come!) and it's time to get the closet back together. Other than that, hopefully we manage to get our tree and some decorations up today/tomorrow. Oh, and a few last presents to get for christmas, but we're almost done. Time to get to work!

Visiting the Galea's!

Yesterday, I bravely took off with Cole for a day trip to London... though in truth I wasn't very optimistic, thinking in my head that there was a good chance we would have to turn around. Well, Cole proved me wrong and had better naps than he has in ages, sleeping most of the way to London and all the way home (he even took a little nap while we were there!)

In London we visited the Galea's who have a little guy, Lukas, who is pretty much the same age as Cole. It was great being out of the house, catching up and swapping babies for a bit! It'll be so exciting to visit as they get older and are able to play with each other more!

Pictures: above, Cole and Lukas on the couch

to the left, "momma" Kimmy and Lukas

Christmas Party

On Sunday we went to the Ciociaro Club here in Windsor for Jeff's work xmas party. They do a big one every year for all the kids. I was hoping for Cole's 1st visit with Santa... but 3 hours was all that we could manage that day and as we headed out the door we saw Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving. Oh well, maybe we'll make it to the mall before the season is over! Here's a picture of Jeff and Cole with Steve and his daughter Elizabeth.

Gone Hiking!

Last year Jeff and I had taken Duke to a conservation area nearby but it was in the thick of bug season... needless to say we didn't make it very far that day. Today we decided it would make a nice outing for Cole. He did really well in the backpack carrier. We had a nice walk and I even got a couple nice pictures out of it. Now it's naptime and hopefully with all the good air from this mornings trek this sleep lasts longer than the 20 minute one he had earlier today!

sleep in heavenly peace...

The picture above: Cole having a little catnap. Naps haven't really improved any over the past week... but we're not giving up, mommy needs some "me" time back and for the first time in over a year I can actually say "I'm getting TOO much sleep. (right now I often end up having to nap with Cole in order for him to have some daytime rest) The latest thing we're trying... giving him a lovey, "bear" who he's always been fond of, now being toted around with him 24/7.
Already heading into the last part of November, Christmas is just around the corner. Definetely a favourite time of year for me. As soon as Halloween's over, Christmas in my mind, has officially begun. This year the tree and decorations have yet to make their annual appearence, but November 1st I was looking for the radio station out of Detriot that plays Christmas music nonstop!
Cole and I went swimming again today. Tuesday's/Thursday's are usually the best days for us to go since it's tot swim from 11:30-1:30. He had such a good time today... we met a little guy, Noah (4 yrs) and his grandpa. Noah was quite the little entertainer splashing around in the water and he had Cole laughing so long and hard. Cole even held out his arms and Noah gave him a hug... a picture perfect moment and of course no camera on me!
I think Cole may have a little touch of the cold Jeff had earlier this week... his voice was sounding a little off today. Hopefully it doesn't get anymore serious than that.
Below: a picture of Cole playing from earlier this week