Cole's first Christmas

There is something magical about Christmas when there's a child in the house. Even though Cole had no idea what was going on, Christmas just felt more special this year with him in our lives. We hosted Christmas Eve at our house and had both families over for dinner which was followed by opening a whole lot of presents. Cole got so many nice things -- toys, clothes, books. He is such a lucky little guy to be surrounded by such loving family. Here he is happily snuggling with Grandma Badger.

Cory and I both got lots of lovely gifts as well. Kind of random, but Cory got two bobbleheads this year, which we all thought was pretty funny since he'd never owned one before. One is Dwight from The Office and the other is Jacoby Ellsbury (OSU baseball alum who now plays for the Red Sox).

On Christmas morning we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa K's house for breakfast -- cinnamon rolls, eggs and bacon ... YUM! Cole was such a happy baby that morning and didn't even fuss too much when we put his hat on.

That is until Grandma K started asking him about Santa. He didn't like that at all. What a sad little face! But still so darn cute.

Grandma redeemed herself by snuggling and holding Cole in his favorite position.

We took a break from opening presents to talk with the East Coast Klinks. Wish that we were able to celebrate the holidays with them in person. It would be so much fun to have all the cousins together. Maybe next year!?!?!

We spent the rest of the morning and into early afternoon in Lebanon at the Badgers house. After that we came home to relax and play with our gifts and to enjoy the time together. One of the best gifts of all is that Cory was off the whole week of Christmas so we had lots of family time. Thank you to everyone who helped to make Cole's first Christmas so special. We love you all!

Recapping the past week

It has been a busy week in the Badger household. Hence the fact that there hasn't been a blog entry since last Tuesday! Here's a recap of what has been going on in our world.

Last Friday Cole and I drove up to Beaverton to visit Kelly and Owen Ward. Owen is just about 5 months. It was so much fun to visit and we look forward to the day when Owen and Cole can play together. They did synchronize their naps, feedings, and diaper changes, though, which was nice! Check out Owen's hat. We definitely need to get one of those for Cole!



Then that night was the Edge holiday party. Cole stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa K while Cory and I went out. It was fun to have a night out and Cole enjoyed his time with his grandparents.

Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Badger came over to visit. We think that Grandpa B may be a Baby Whisperer or something. He has such a way with babies! Cole is alway happy to sit and snuggle with him.

Monday Cole and I spent the morning in Lebanon while the cleaning ladies were at our house. Aunt Lorrie was there, too, so we visited and Cole slept with Grandpa. I'm telling you, Baby Whisperer.

Tuesday we took Cole to Grandma B's Bunko Christmas party at Dixie Green's house. He was a big hit with all of the women!

Wednesday Cole went to school. Well, Grandma K's school. It was fun to meet her coworkers and to be among the buzz of the middle school students.

Yesterday Olivia stopped by on her way home from the coast. She brought Cole the cutest gift for Christmas. Two little dolls that she calls "Hugs." They are just adorable. I'll get a photo of them up on the blog soon.

And today Cole and I went to HP to visit Daddy at work. His work group was hosting a holiday open house so we got to meet several of his coworkers and even got to see one of the Halo rooms.

Lets see, what else can I tell you about Cole these days. He's starting to do a bit better at night. Although he's not sleeping through the night, he's only waking up (for the most part) one or two times. He is starting to "talk" a lot more and is making lots of eye contact. Recently he has been discovering his tongue

and thinks its pretty cool when other people stick their tongues out at him or make raspberry noises. You can tell that his vision is starting to get better as he is really focusing in on things and is becoming more interested in faces. He literally changes very day. Truly amazing.

Two month check-up

Today we went to the doctor for Cole's 2 month check-up, which consisted of weighing and measuring him, listening to his heart and lungs, and checking all his other parts. What we learned is that he is a healthy little guy and is doing great. He weighs 12 pounds, 12 ounces (75th percentile) and is 24 inches long (90th percentile).

Oh, and he also had to get three vacinnation shots. How could I forget that! It was so hard to watch. I was up by his face and Cory was helping the nurse by holding Cole's legs down. Before the shots he was such a happy baby, cooing and smiling away on the exam table. And then all of a sudden he got stuck what seemed like a 5 inch needle right in his chubby little leg. And he wailed. His little face turned bright red and he even had tears. But once it was over and Dad picked him up he recovered quickly and feel asleep before we got out of the office. Not looking forward to doing that again, that's for sure!

So no photos of the occasion, but we did want to share this update with you all.

Searching for the perfect Christmas tree

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning, much needed after all the rain we've been having and ideal for going to get our Christmas tree. We headed down the hill to Donovans Tree Farm to see what we could find.

Grandma K came along to hang out with Cole

while we searched for the perfect tree.

Cole seemed to enjoy the experience. Especially since he had Grandma and her long down coat to keep him warm!

None of the trees in the "u-cut" area really grabbed our attention so we decided to check out the ones that had been selected and cut by the tree farm staff. And there we found it. The perfect Christmas tree!

This year we (at this point, Cory would say "We? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?") Okay, I (Rebecca) decided to string popcorn for the tree, a tradition that I remember from my childhood. So I strung popcorn, with some help from my mom, and have started adding ornaments. And yes, there are already presents underneath! Not surprisingly, 99% of those are for Cole.

Hello, Santa!

Today we went Christmas shopping in Portland. We stopped by the Woodburn outlets on our way home and Santa happened to be there, too! So Cole had his first encounter with Mr. Claus.

Eco-baby

Cole relaxing in his bamboo outfit. Yep, that's right, his little shirt and pants are made 100% out of bamboo. Our green little bambino!

Tummy time!

Self portrait

We spent some time today playing around with the camera's timer function and the tripod. On the first try the positioning wasn't quite right ... but the important part of the photo (Cole) came out perfectly. Then we got the position right, but Cole is a bit blurry. Not so sure how much we'll use the timer in the future, but it was fun to experiment!

Our Seattle family

Keli, Rob, and Buster came for a quick visit this weekend. They arrived on Saturday night just in time to see Cole before he headed off to bed. Then Sunday morning we were treated to breakfast cooked by Rob and Cole got to spend some time cuddling with his Aunt Keli. Can't wait to see them again soon in Sunriver!

Civil War

We watched Civil War over at Grandma & Grandpa K's house with Sahnows, Maloneys, and Jim & Bron. The Beavers won - the first time since 1993 since the visiting team has won.

Cole and Daddy put on their orange and get ready to cheer for the Beavs! (Sorry, my UO crew. My son is destined to be a Beaver fan!)

Cole and Quincy are happy to play on the floor. For a few minutes, at least!

Owen (aka Bernard)

Rory and Britt

Shahnaz and Quincy

Football Sunday

Cole wore his Raiders onesie and the Raiders won ... coincidence? or lucky charm?

Working out with Dad

Burning off some Thanksgiving calories. I'm not so sure about this, Dad...

Okay, warming up.

Running in place.

Kiss break.

Arm circles.

Phew, all tired out and ready for a nap.

First Thanksgiving

It was a perfectly sunny (but cold) morning for Turkey Bowl 2007.

I hung out with Mom while Dad played.

Then we went back to Grandma and Grandpa K's house for a delicious meal. I met lots of new people and saw some familiar faces. There were over 20 people there!

On Friday we had Thankgiving part deux at the Sahnows where I met some more new people. Lourdes and Jo were visiting from California.

There's really nothing sweeter ...

... than a sleeping baby.

Snuggling with Grandpa

One of Cole's favorite places to sleep.

My Cousin Natalia

Cousin Natalia, Uncle Brad, and Aunt Mercedes came to visit this weekend. Natalia is so good with babies! She is going to be such a wonderful big sister.

zig zag puppy

Cole made a new friend today, zig zag puppy. If you pull his bow tie he plays "You Are My Sunshine" and Cole loves it. We were playing with zig zag on the floor today and Cole started talking to him and smiling. His first little friend!