One year ago today

As the year comes to a close, it's always fun to reflect back on all that has happened in the past 12 months. This has been a truly special year full of sweet memories. Cole has grown from a baby into a little boy. And what a wonderful little boy he has become. Here he is exactly one year ago. Look at those chubby cheeks and crazy hair! I love you, Cole. Writing now with tears streaming down my cheeks ... I've been very emotional recently about Cole growing up. Pregnancy hormones? Maybe. It's a happy-sad, though. It's such a joy to watch him grow up. I just want to soak up every last moment with him. And that's a resolution for 2010 (and beyond) - be present and live in the moment. Take time to be grateful for all that we have and those in our lives. xo

Enjoying the holidays

We had a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Christmas and are still enjoying the holidays as Cory is off until the 4th. Lots of relaxing and family time - perfect! Here are a couple photos from my mom's camera. More to come ...

Getting ready for Santa, who Cole still looks for every morning.

Thank you, Grandma, for the singing Santa!

More singing toys = a happy Cole

Grandma took Cole to the annual Starker Tree Hunt party, where he loved hanging out with Kaiana, searching for a tree, singing Christmas carols and toasting marshmallows.

Go Vikings!

The kids in their matching PJs on Christmas Eve. Don't you just love Cole's accessories?

Christmas lunch at my parents house consisted of potato chowder and cinnamon rolls. I know, sounds like a funny combination, but it works. Both were delish. And, of course, the traditional Christmas crackers, which gave us crowns, toys and bad jokes.

Donuts with Dad

Today's advent calendar contained a fun activity for Cole and Cory - donuts with dad! Sad that I couldn't partake (no gluten free donuts at Safeway) - I miss the occasional maple bar! Cole loved it, of course.

let the festivities begin!

The house is decorated (as much as it gets decorated for the holidays), the tree is up, and the lights are hung. It's feeling festive around here and I love it! I even lit my favorite Christmas candle today. Mmmmm ... it even smells like Christmas! Cole is loving it all and gets so excited about every little thing. Each morning he has to go look at the tree, we turn the lights on, and then go open his advent calendar. More pictures coming soon, but here are a couple.

little chef

Cole cooking up some mac & cheese for breakfast.

thankful for family

We were so happy to have Brad, Mercedes and the girls come up for Thanksgiving this year! What a treat. The kids are so cute together. As always, I wish I had taken more pictures, but here are a couple from the week.

Helping Mercedes make peppermint bark, my new favorite holiday treat. Yum.


CHEESE (isn't she the cutest? love those cheeks)


Playing, playing, playing and playing some more.



Bath time!


Unfortunately Cole woke up on Thanksgiving morning with a stomach bug, so our Thanksgiving day was pretty mellow. Cory headed over to Lebanon to be with his family and Cole and I hung around the house, he slept, I worked on some projects. It was very sad at first, but it ended up actually being ok. At least I was able to spend the day with him, even if he wasn't at his best. He woke up mid-afternoon and seemed better, so we made it for dinner, but then promptly turned around and came home, just in time for him to throw up again. Poor little guy. The next morning he bounced right back, though, and was feeling fine. Yay for a quick recovery!


Friday night, their last night here, we headed down to catch the Christmas parade. A fun Corvallis tradition (although Cory would disagree with my saying its fun).

Brothers & babies



Grandma


The crew


Whoa!


There's Santa! (which also signifies the end of the parade, good thing because it was COLD)

Favorite reads

I've decided to start trying to post regurlary on what Cole's favorite books are, more for my record than anything, but maybe you'll find one that you haven't heard of before that you'd like to pick up!

Books around here tend to cycle in and out of the favorite rotation every week or so. And when it's a favorite, we read it over and over and over again. I'm always happy when a new book is introduced and accepted! For the past week we have read the following three books at least once/day, probably more like 2-3 times each.

"I Stink" by Kate & Jim Mcmullan. A book about a garbage truck, perfect for a 2-year old boy! His favorite page is the one that shows a picture of a dirty diaper ... mmmm. Thank you Auntie Sarah!



"Go, Dog, Go." by P.D. Eastman. The copy we have is a much loved one from when I was little. According to my mom this was my all-time favorite. Cole's favorite page shows all the cars heading for the big tree. And he also likes to role play the "Do you like my hat" scene.



"Quiet Loud" by Leslie Patricelli. Another good one from Aunt Sarah. Cole seems to like the "snow is quiet, lightning is loud" page best. Not sure why, maybe because it has been raining so much here?



And to close, a cute photo of Cory and Cole reading. Awwww ...

First OSU bball game of the season

Cory, Cole, and I went to check out our first OSU bball game on Saturday. The game was not so great (down by 22 at half time), but Cole had fun scouting out Benny and admiring him from a distance. When we got up close to Benny, admiration turned to fear, but he did manage to wave to him, which is a big step. We're working our way towards a high five.

Things that you can tell from this photo -- 1) there were a few empty seats and 2) the popcorn was a hit.

Such a big boy

My mom sent this photo tonight with the email subject line "such a big boy" - so true! He is growing and changing daily. Love this little guy more than words can describe.

Tinker Toys

Recently we dug out some toys that were Cory's when he was little - Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs. The Lincoln Logs are more fun for us, I think, but he is all about the Tinker Toys. I'm actually surprised at how well he's able to build stuff with them because they're kind of hard to put together. Here he is building a stop sign. Love the tongue action. He's concentrating!

school photo

Cole's school recently did school photos. I actually had no idea that they were doing them (although I'm sure there was a slip somewhere in the pile of papers) so I was happily surprised when they came home - and also happy that I happened to kind of dress him up that day! Nice. Both photos actually really look like Cole, which doesn't always happen with these "sit here, smile" types of sessions. I'm thinking we'll order a couple of each. Maybe some wallet size ones to share with family + friends. Let me know if you want one and I'll send it your way!

Halloween

Our little puppy trick-or-treating downtown on Halloween Eve.





And getting ready to head out around the neighborhood on Halloween with Caden.


Our pumpkins.

pumpkin patch

On Saturday we headed out to Heavenly Harvest pumpkin patch. Luckily we had clear skies, but after a couple days of heavy rain it was pretty muddy. Cole definitely was into it this year.

BIG tractor. Cole is in heaven!

Our little piggie.

LOVED the tractor hay ride.

Hard to smile when you're saying "cheese" (cole)

Searching for the perfect ones.

Hunting for a pumpkin is tiring! Taking a little rest.

Pumpkin jumping w/grandma.

ready for winter

Cole is ready for winter with this new adorable hat from Target.

Birthday prep

new best friend

Meet Cole's new best friend, mummy. He met mummy last night at my parent's house and hasn't put him down since. Mummy sings and dances and Cole loves him, even though he isn't very cuddly. He took him to bed with him last night, all the way to Portland this morning, and here he is riding in the cart with Cole at the grocery store tonight.