Cole William Badger

It's not all about Cole anymore ...

2010-06-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Today is my due date and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby girl. Its such a weird feeling to know that she could come today or it could be as late as July 13th before we welcome her into the world. But we are ready to meet her when she is ready! Cole is excited to be a big brother, although I'm not sure he completely understands what that means. But he does talk about her a lot and likes spending time in her room, especially in her crib! With this new addition to our family, the focus of our blog will no longer be all about Cole as it has been for the past almost three years. And since the blog's address is currently colebadger.blogspot.com it only made sense to set up a more appropriate one that encompasses both of our kids. For future updates, check out badgerfamily.blogspot.com.

climbing

2010-06-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood park has two play structures - one for little guys and one for bigger kids. Cole often gravitates to the bigger kids one, although he is pretty cautious and knows his limits with what he can and can't do on it. Today he tried out the ladder for the first time, scaling up it quickly and even making the jump from the ladder to the play structure. I always love watching him be successful at something new. He was so proud!

My boys

2010-06-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

Just a sweet photo of Cole and Cory reading together on a lazy Sunday morning. I love times like these ...

First wedding of the summer

2010-06-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

A couple pictures from our first, and actually only, wedding of the summer. Our friends Jon and Sadie got married this past Saturday at Flinn Block Hall in Albany. What a beautiful wedding! I wish I had better photos of Sadie - she looked stunning. Highlights for Cole - exploring the building, playing with his buddy Caden, dancing and cupcakes.

picnics

2010-06-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

One of Cole's favorite things of late, and mine too actually, is picnics in the front yard. We got these adirondack chairs a couple weeks back and they have been a fantastic investment. We use them every day that its sunny, which thankfully has been almost every day this week. Also notice the cheezy smile, which is what you get when you tell Cole to smile these days. I predict a lot more of these smiles in future photos :)

Wildcat Park

2010-06-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

This was Cole's first week out of day care, so we had lots of time to enjoy the sun that is finally here. For a change of scenery, we headed over to Wildcat Park. I can't believe it was our first time there - such a cool set-up. Next time we go there I think we'll take a picnic. I'm sure there will be lots of park pictures this summer as Cole loves going and there are lots of parks to explore in Corvallis.

Day at the zoo

2010-06-23T23:17:00.000-07:00

We took Cole to the Oregon Zoo for the first time last Saturday. I can't believe we've never taken him there! We had a baby shower in Portland in the afternoon for our dear friends Kristen and Scott, so it was the perfect opportunity to spend some time at the zoo. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera, so my photos are very limited, but what I can tell you about our visit:

If you ask Cole what his favorite animal was, he'll say "dinosaur." And he's serious! They have a dinosaur exhibit going right now featuring a variety of dinosaurs that move and make noise and even spit (that was a surprise!). Cole was actually pretty scared the whole time, but then as soon as we were done walking through, he wanted to go back again. They also had a cool dinosaur that you could operate via a remote control. Cole could have easily spent an hour with that alone.
We spent the most time at the elephants. All four were out and it was feeding time, so that was cool. And it was fun to see the baby.
The animals he was most excited about seeing were the giraffes, but sadly they were mostly hiding and we could only catch a glimpse.
On a recommendation from our friend Brittany, we made sure to jump on the train and took it down to Washington Park, where we got off for a bit to check out the playground. Cole loved the train. This was probably a close second after the dinosaurs. The only photos worth sharing are both from the train ...

Fathers Day

2010-06-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that Cory is the chef in our house. He makes some amazing food and I feel lucky to have such a wonderful husband who loves to cook. If it was up to me our menu would be rather limited ... heavy on yogurt and cereal :)

A few months back I had the idea to get Cory a new BBQ for Fathers Day (and an early birthday present). After much research I settled on the Weber Genesis. With the help of my dad and brother I had the grill waiting for him when we got home from Portland last night. He was super surprised and so happy. I should really post a photo of our old BBQ. It looks so sad and tiny next to this one! The first thing Cory did was to put the heat on high and see how hot it would get. Almost 700 degrees! He literally stood there with a big smile on his face (and beer in hand) watching the temperature gauge go up. Needless to say, he loves it! For dinner tonight he grilled up a pork roast for over 8 hours and did pulled pork sandwiches. Um, delicious.

Cole making his "funny face," which is what he says he will do for the baby when she is crying to cheer her up. Classic Cole.

Happy Fathers Day, babe! You're the best dad and husband. Thank you for all you do for us. We are so, so lucky. xo

new favorite things

2010-06-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

Cole has been asking (begging) for a BIG Buzz Lightyear ever since he saw the one that our neighbor has. So yesterday we made a stop at Target and got him one. Wow, don't think I have ever seen him more excited about a toy! He has been playing with it non-stop for the past two days. Oh, and we picked up some googles while we were there, too, which he used in the bath tub this morning. These pictures make me smile ...

(playing around with my computers photo booth app)

Getting so big!

2010-06-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

I took a few photos the other day and looking at them now I am struck by how old Cole is looking and how BIG he is! These photo also represent one of his most favorite pastimes these days -- "working" with dad on anything & everything outside (this day Cory was hauling gravel for our new path).

Sunny days

2010-06-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

A couple photos from yesterday, our first truly sunny day in a LONG time! Cole and I spent the afternoon out and about in our neighborhood, enjoying the weather. First stop - the park!

This walk was all about Cole. I let him lead the way and choose our route, wandering at his pace. Stopping to find good sticks, throw rocks, hunt for bugs, etc.

And he insisted on wearing this winter hat that was stashed in the stroller. Silly boy.

Exploring in the trees, trying to avoid poison oak.

Dance party!

2010-05-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

Cole is into dance parties these days. Shirts are optional. The socks and the leg kicks kill me.

Mothers Day

2010-05-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Mothers Day with brunch at the Buena Vista House, one of my favorite places in the world. It was a wonderful (and sunny - yay!) morning, surrounded by family and good food. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Mom to this wonderful little boy.

Daughter to the most amazing woman in the world.

Golf lessons

2010-05-05T19:43:00.001-07:00

After several days of rain (and even some hail!) it was nice to have some sunshine tonight. Cole is such an outdoor kid and Cory is so good about hanging with him outside for as long as he wants. Lucky kid! Tonight's outdoor activities included a few laps around the block on his four wheeler, followed by batting practice, a break for dinner, and then back outside for some golf lessons with Dad. To quote Cory "I think he's already a better golfer than me." Well, not sure about that, but he's getting the hang of it!

Side note - seems like Cole has just passed a developmental milestone. Taller, talking so much and just feels more and more like a little boy. Love all the funny saying these days, too. His current favorite - "4 more minutes" - his answer anytime you give him a heads up that we're going to need to transition activities.

Little Ms. Charlotte

2010-04-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today Cole and I made the trip up to Salem to meet little Ms. Charlotte Rose Nass. What a doll! She was really alert most of our visit, so it was fun to get to see her checking out her new world. It's so amazing to hold such a little one! Its hard to believe we'll have one of our own in just a couple months. Cole was really good with her. He held her for a couple minutes before he asked to be done because "she's sitting on my feet." Then he spent the rest of our visit trying to get Sophie (their dog) to stay sitting long enough for him to pet her and then running like crazy all around their house. Ah, two year old boys. Certainly much different that a two week old sweet little girl.

Charlotte Rose Nass, 12 days old

Mama (looking SO fantastic) and Charlotte

Cole meets Charlotte

Favorite reads

2010-04-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox. We picked this one up at the library last week. Its a quick read, cute illustrations. Cole likes the last page the best. You'll have to read it to find out why!

Just a Mess by Mercer Mayer. Recently we got a new box of hand-me-downs from Caden, including a slew of books. There were several Mercer Mayer books, which Cole loves. Especially this one where the Little Critter is looking for his baseball mitt. My nickname recently for Cole is the little tornado since he makes messes faster than we can clean them up ... so its kind of perfect that he likes this book.

The Little Dumptruck by Margery Cuyler. Cole loves any digger, excavator, dump truck, crane, etc. Especially if they're "working." We read this book specifically for the page with the big excavator on it.

Umbrella model

2010-04-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Cory's parents are currently in the process of cleaning out his Grandma Billie's house as she has moved into an assisted living facility. What a collection! Cory spent an hour digging through cookbooks - she must have over 100! And Cole found this awesome vintage umbrella, which we brought home with us.

Time on campus

2010-04-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

Cole and I spent part of our sunny Friday on campus, visiting my friend Jaimee at Gill (thanks, Jaimee, for the new OSU basketball!) and walking around Reser Stadium. We even got to check out part of the OSU football scrimmage. Days like today make me thankful to live in a college town!

Fun in the sun

2010-04-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Sun + sprinklers = fun

A couple of our many outdoor tools. The four wheeler is a favorite ... being replaced soon (this week, I think) by a much bigger, faster one. Thank you Daddy :)

Hanging at Madison Ave

2010-04-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

Easter

2010-04-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was full of family, food and fun.

A couple pictures from our neighborhood egg hunt. While other kids ran to gather as many eggs as they could, Cole hung back with a familiar look of skepticism on his face. Honestly, I can totally see why you would be confused by this tradition! So, there are a ton of plastic eggs scattered about the playground. What's the deal with that?

He got into it enough to retrieve 4 eggs and then he was done.

And then he realized that there was CANDY in those eggs. If he had known that before, he would certainly have been a bit more enthusiastic about the hunt.

My mom took Cole up to the country club for their Easter party, where they met up with Nathan, Krista and the kids. Apparently there was an endless amount of fun (sugar) including a cotton candy machine, a bounce house, eggs and cookies to decorate and a special appearance from the Easter Bunny. Wow. The kids had a BLAST.

That afternoon we headed over to see Olivia and Ryan at Olivia's sisters house. While the highlight for me was seeing Olivia and Ryan, the new baby chicks (and maybe the cats) were the highlight for Cole -- sorry, Livs! The "fuzzy bottom girls" as Andrea nicknamed them, are actually pretty cute (and this is coming from a non-bird person). Cole was very interested in knowing exactly what are they doing, asking "what are they doing now?" every time they moved. And then there was the pooping. The boy has a bit of a fascination with poop.

Easter morning we hosted brunch here with both sets of grandparents and Krista, Nathan and the kids. Yay for family! It was a lovely morning. No photos to share, but a good time for sure. Yummy food and good conversation.

bubble gun

2010-03-30T19:10:00.001-07:00

Just about the coolest thing, all you do is pull the trigger, and bam - bubbles! It's amazing how fast it goes through bubble solution. Thank goodness for the Dollar Store.

best buds

2010-03-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Cole and Quincy's play date at the Play Factory. These boys are best buds and so dang cute together.

Boys on bugs.

Expressing their artistic sides.

Field trip to the gluten free bakery for a little treat.

Nose-to-nose huddle.

Holding hands for safety.

Catching rain drops on their tongues.

Weekend fun

2010-03-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

Such a fun weekend. Here are a few pictures ...

Saturday was a day with Daddy. Cole and Cory spent the morning and early afternoon watching OSU Baseball batting practice, walking around campus, enjoying the sun and then finally ended up at OSU Baseball game.

Cole and Jacob, our neighbor whose dad is one of the baseball coaches. Cole sporting his new Beaver tshirt and hat, both a bit on the big side, but they worked. And Daddy's sunglasses.

Cole, Grandpa and Benny.

Like father, like son. Love this picture of my boys.

Saturday night we celebrated my mom's birthday a couple days early at Nathan and Krista's house. Thai food from the Woodsman = yum!

Today Cole and I headed up to Portland to celebrate Rory Maloney's 3rd birthday. And as a bonus, also got to see Rob, Keli and Macadam over coffee in Sellwood.

Here's Cole, still sporting his hat from the party, playing baseball with dad, which is his #1 favorite activity these days.

And then wrapping up the afternoon by mowing the rocks and flowers. Thank you, Cole :)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T22:56:00.001-07:00

Cole channeling his Irish heritage. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa O'Klinkhammer for the Irish props. So festive!

Monday, Monday

2010-03-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

A couple pictures from a wonderful Monday with my little man.

Hanging out at home. Cole sporting his medal and flag from Owen's 5th birthday party - the theme was "O"lympics.

Ran a couple errands, including stopping at Kmart (why, why, why doesn't Corvallis have a Target? ugh ... pet peeve)

On our neighborhood walk, I finally stopped to let Cole get up in this forklift that he has been eying for months now. He was in heaven.

basketball boys

2010-03-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

The sun was out this past weekend (sadly it is long gone right now!) which brought all of the boys out for a little basketball in the Sather's driveway. A whole crew of boys ranging in age from 2 years old - 7th grade.

Here's Cole with his buddy Justin. For some reason he really didn't want me taking photos of them together and refused standing next to Justin for a picture, so this was the best I could get.

Dunk!

Favorite reads

2010-03-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

Off the bookshelf this week ...

"We're Going on a Bear Hung" by Michael Rosen - a classic for sure. The other week Cole was hanging with my mom and they went on a stick hunt, which ended when Cole saw a bear in their front yard. Yep, right there on Harrison Blvd. Ah, the imagination of a 2 year old.

Mother Goose nursery rhymes ... and he'll take as much as you're willing to read! This book is pretty long (like 100 pgs or so), so sometimes we just open it up in the middle and start reading so we can get to some new ones.

"Don't let the pigeon stay up late" by Mo Willems. Cole loves the pigeon books, especially this one. He seems to have really bonded with the pigeon over his situation. Shortly after reading this book for the first time, every time Cole would yawn he'd make sure to tell us that he wasn't tired. And shortly after that was when he started refusing his nap when at home (he still naps at day care). I'm not saying that the pigeon book is to blame, but I do miss the afternoon nap time ... terribly!

Sheep barn

2010-03-03T19:23:00.001-08:00

The sheep barns in Corvallis are a pretty big deal. Seriously. Kids, parents and grandparents alike all come out in masses to see the pregnant ewes, new baby lambs and if you're lucky - you get to see an actual birth while you're there! We didn't see one, which I think is probably a good thing as Cole was pretty disgusted by the fact that the sheep were pooping in the hay. Not sure how he would have handled the after birth and such. Highlights for Cole = pooping sheep, how loud the sheep were (they were super loud) and the llamas.

Getting friendly with mascots

2010-02-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

Cole has a love/hate relationship with mascots. Loves them from a distance, but when we get up close, he literally starts to shake. This has been true with most until we met Sparky the fire dog and this Tiger at the CARDV family festival. Maybe its because they were smaller than Benny and the Knight (the two mascots he has seen the most of) but he befriended them, followed them all over the gym and even agreed to get his picture taken with them.

Sunshine = park time!

2010-02-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

We've driven past the train and "dinosaur bones" at Avery Park many times, but this is the first time that Cole has seen them up close and personal. And it won't be the last! A perfect for climbing and exploring.

And we've been spending LOTS of time at our neighborhood park, one of Cole's all time most favorite places.

Valentines Day at the coast

2010-02-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

For Valentines Day this year we decided to head over to the coast for a little beach time. It was a beautiful morning - pretty clear and a bit sunny. We walked up and down the bay front in Newport, checked out Nye Beach, grabbed lunch at The Chowder Bowl and then the rain came ... and we headed home. We actually don't make it the the coast very often but its nice to be so close that we can go for a quick trip.

Cole's ready to go ... checking out a lizard bbefore loading up.

My boys, the loves of my life. xo

Enjoying the sand ... a little scared of the waves. It was super high tide, so they were coming in pretty close, which was a little scary I admit.

Super happy.

Exploring.

Love the tongue action in this one. Looks so determined.

Rarrr

2010-02-13T14:35:00.001-08:00

Our little dinosaur.

Friday night

2010-02-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Just a typical Friday night at the Badger household.

Cole as a scary dinosaur.

Trying to be scary, even with his hood on backwards, which just looks a little goofy.

Snuggle time with Mooly the cow.

Trying to fix the mummy. "I need my screwdriver, Mommy."

Wrestling with Daddy.

Football with Daddy.

Gelato date with MawMaw (his new name for me).

Building a robot

2010-02-05T16:30:00.001-08:00

It is no longer a tower, it is a robot. And this was the biggest robot Cole has ever made!

Favorite reads

2010-01-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

This week Cole has one new favorite book. He is loving "The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf. He likes to make the sniffing sound when it talks about Ferdinand smelling the flowers and also likes the part when he sits on the bee. I love the simple yet beautiful black & white illustrations and the sweet story.

Garage basketball

2010-01-27T22:49:00.000-08:00

Cory moved the basketball hoop into the garage (its been outside since summer) and I'm not sure why we didn't do it sooner! Cole loves it. Every night he wants to go play basketball with Daddy. Not Mommy. When I ask if I can come, he gives me "the look." He's gotten pretty good at the brow furrow these days. In this case "the look" means plain and simple - no. It's a Daddy + Cole activity. Which I love. Here's a little footage from today's game. BTW - he went and picked out his basketball shoes and hat all by himself. Love the high top converse.

Two year old boy

2010-01-27T22:48:00.001-08:00

For those of you who have ever spent time with a two year old boy, this will look very familiar. If you've never had the pleasure, here's a little sneak peek into life with a two year old close to bed time. Seriously entertaining! To translate the conversation - Cole is singing his rendition of Jingle Bells ... Jingle Poop. Don't ask me where he came up with that, but he still sings it almost every day. And then he's talking about going to look for bald eagles, which he did with Cory, and going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Badger.

Favorite reads

2010-01-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

This book was actually one that Mercedes gave Cory when he moved into his townhouse, kind of as a joke, but we held onto it, and now its one of Cole's favorites.

I love the illustration style of this book. I got it at a garage sale last summer. It's very simple, but very sweet. And Cole has always giggled throughout this whole book.

TOBY! We love Toby.

Video message for the Badgers

2010-01-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in the mail Cole got the coolest gift - a new guitar from his Uncle Brad and Aunt Mercedes. He LOVES it! When I got home from work he was snuggling with it on the couch and quickly exclaimed as soon as I walked in the door -- "Mommy, look, I got a guitar. I LOVE it. Do you love it?" This is the thank you video we sent to them.

Working

2010-01-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

Cole is getting more and more into imagination play, which is fun to watch. Recently he has been going to a lot of meetings and going to work. I guess it only makes sense since that's what we are usually doing when we're not with him. The other morning he told me he was leaving to go to a meeting with Quincy. Tonight he informed us that he was going to work, at which point he promptly when and got his tool bench and stool, sat down and began to hammer. "I'm working," he said. And then began explaining the steps to whatever he was making. "First you ...," he rattled off. I often can't quite follow his conversations with himself, but love to listen nonetheless.

And, related to work, here's one I took a while back of Cole actually at work with me. He loves spending time at Madison Ave - lots of fun stuff to play with and always sweet treats.

A couple more Christmas photos

2010-01-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

Snuggling with Grandma in his new very hungry caterpillar blanket from Grandma and Grandpa Badger.

Showing off his new big boy underpants, which he is wearing over his diapers. We're not quite ready to take that leap yet, although he has started using the potty at daycare. So maybe it's us that's not ready?

Playing with his new toys - garbage truck from Auntie Sarah, train from Santa, and Matchbox cars from Daddy.

Play-doh

2010-01-12T20:44:00.001-08:00

One of Cole's new favorite activities - Play-doh! He can entertain himself for a long time in his high chair with a couple containers of Play-doh, a play rolling pin and a couple cookie cutters. Yay for creative play! This is the first Play-doh mask I've ever seen, courtesy of Cory.

Favorite reads

2010-01-08T15:04:00.001-08:00

This week's favorites include:

"If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" by Laura Numeroff. We have a couple others in the series, but this one is new. Cute.

"Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems. This is one that we used to read all the time but its been out of the rotation for quite a while. It's one of my favorites, so I'm glad to see it back!

"Do Your ABCs, Little Brown Bear" by Jonathan London. Cory and Cole discovered this one on the bookshelf the other night. Not sure how this one managed to stay hidden for so long! It's very sweet.

Mr. Potato Head family

2010-01-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

Recently Caden passed down a bunch of Mr. Potato Heads to Cole. We've been having fun dressing them up and making various families. Not sure who has more fun, me and Cory or Cole. The latest is Mr. Potato Head bowling, where we get them all dressed and then Cole rolls a ball and tries to knock them over. Oh, and he likes to wear their glasses too, which makes me laugh.

Video?

2010-01-06T20:11:00.001-08:00

You may remember a while back we got a Flip video camera. And you might wonder why, if we have this great little camera that's so super easy to use, we never seem to post videos. Well ... the answer is because Cole is possibly the hardest kid ever to video tape. As soon as he sees it, he just wants to watch the video. Here's proof from tonight. He was cooking mac & cheese for Cory in his kitchen and describing the steps as to how to make it (I guess we eat a lot of mac & cheese because he was spot on!). I thought, I have to get this on camera! But, nope. I have many 30 sec videos like this.

One year ago today

2009-12-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-07T20:42:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

Cole cooking up some mac & cheese for breakfast.

thankful for family

2009-11-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-28T20:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-15T22:52:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-28T20:47:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

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

Birthday prep

2009-10-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

new best friend

2009-10-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

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.

bye, bye bottle (?)

2009-09-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

We've been working on trying to ween Cole from his bottle. He's been down to 2/day for the past 6+ months, but the last 2 (morning/night) are definitely the hardest. But today I'm happy to report that Cole went all day without a bottle! Yay! Hopefully this is the beginning of the end.

Monday

2009-09-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Mondays are my new favorite day. Kind of weird to say, but its true. A day with Cole is the best way to start the week. Here's a recap of our Monday: got up a little later than usual (yay!), ate breakfast together, got ready a bit slower than on "working" days (yay!) and then headed to our class at The Little Gym. Got home around 10am, played some, ate some, made some bread, had lunch, nap time/work time for me, up from nap, played outside, Cory came home and played outside with Cole while I made dinner, went for a walk around the block while dinner cooked, ate dinner, played, bedtime. Ah, the perfect day indeed.

Here are a couple of pictures of my little helper helped me make bread (in my new, awesome bread machine) and even helped clean up. I wonder when he will get over thinking that cleaning is fun!

bus cracker

2009-09-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Cole took a bite of his cracker today, looked at it, and said "bus." And yep, it looks like a bus!

Fun Run

2009-09-12T13:51:00.001-07:00

This morning Cole participated in his first Fun Run at Corvallis High School. He was the youngest, by far, but was a total trooper and made it the whole way around the track. With a little help from some new friends, who cheered him on to the finish line. Actually, the whole crowd ended up cheering him on at the end.

Warming up.

Running with Grandma and his cheering posse.

The prize.

Spartan football

2009-09-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Cole and the Sahnow boys at the Spartan football game. This peaceful, game-watching moment lasted for about 2 minutes before they were off running up and down the stairs and all around.

I'm Tired

2009-09-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

Cole's new favorite saying is "I'm Tired." Love that he can express himself to let us know when he is tired and ready to go to bed, also love the way that he says it w/some kind of southern-ish drawl. No idea where he got that from!

Baseball boy

2009-09-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors down the street have 3 boys and they're a big baseball family. Cole loves playing with them and is super into baseball right now. Every night he comes home from school and all he wants to do is go outside to play with the bat & ball. We even have a tee now that he's starting to try and hit the ball off of. It's so fun to see him getting more and more coordinated. And he's so determined .. and he wants to do it all by himself. "Cole turn, Cole turn" he says when you try to help him. Yep, he's almost 2.

First game of the season

2009-09-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

Cole loved everything about the game day experience -- the walk to the game past the horses and stomping in the puddles with Caden, the tailgating, FanFare, the alumni center, the GAME, Benny the Beaver -- he loved it all. He made it through the first half happily and then started getting a little squirmy and ready to run, so we left at half time. Great time, though, looking forward to the next one!

Game day

2009-09-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yep, he's a Beaver fan. Cole's favorite words these days are "Go Beavers". With football season here (I can hardly believe its time already!) there's a lot of talk about the Beavers, especially from the little man. He went to bed last night cheering (via his monitor) ...

And woke up cheering this morning.

He is VERY excited about the game today. It's gonna be a wet one!

Piano man

2009-09-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

Four wheelin'

2009-08-30T19:38:00.001-07:00

Cole's new favorite toy - thank you Caden! Now he just needs to figure out the steering part ...

introducing Rylie Anderson

2009-08-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Brittney is a very special person in our lives. We were so sad when she left us earlier this year, but were thrilled for her and Chris to start their new life in Portland, with a little one on the way. This weekend we got to meet the little one, Rylie. Such a beautiful baby. Just about a month old here. Cole couldn't get enough of her! He wanted to hold her the whole time -- "uppey, mommy, uppey" he'd say when he wanted to hold her. And then he'd go sit on the couch and point to his lap and then to Rylie. They are all doing fabulously. Chris & Brittney are such natural parents.

running

2009-08-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

This series of photos would make a great flip book ... hmmm ... I may have to look into creating a digital flip book. I'm sure there's some cool way to do that. Until then, here is our little man running, running, running as fast as he can.

what season is it?

2009-08-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Cole's mix-and-match wardrobe.

future spartans

2009-08-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

The last week has been all about softball as Cory's team was in the playoffs. And good news, they won their league! Third year in a row. Not back for a bunch of old guys :)

Softball = lots of time with great friends. We get together usually before AND after the game for eating, drinking, and playing. We're all probably more serious about the social part of the season than the sport.

Here's a shot of Gavin, Cole, and Caden from one of the last nights. Fun to think of these guys all going to school together one day!

Cole in his new gear from Ritchie.

Cole has loved getting to hang out with all of the kids. The older kids are so great with him, taking them under their wing and including him in their activities. JD is one of his favorites.

BIG bite

2009-08-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Cole' favorite adjective these days is BIG ... as in BIG bite, big truck, big dog ... you get the point. And one of his favorite summer foods has been corn on the cob. Here he is taking a BIG bite of corn - yum!

dance party!

2009-07-20T06:07:00.000-07:00

The house we stayed at in Utah had a juke box so every night the kids had a dance party, which Cole loved. We've kept that tradition going since we've been home. A good way to get out that last bit of energy before bed and to let Cole express his creative dance moves. Here's a series from last night - I believe this was to Prince's "Lets Go Crazy." The last Zoolander-like face cracks me up.

building blocks

2009-07-20T06:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago when our friends Mike and Gem were visiting, Mike taught Cole how to build a super high tower with his blocks. And to all of our surprise Cole really got into it versus getting joy out of knocking the tower over after at just 3 blocks high. It's fitting, really, that Mike would be the one to inspire the builder in Cole since Mike is a carpenter himself. Here's a recent picture of one of the highest we've built, with Cole looking so proud after adding the top one and having it stay standing. We even had to get him a step stool so that he could reach the top!

Bend softball tourney

2009-07-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend we headed over to Bend for Cory's softball tournament. We had such a great time -- sunny, lots of time outside, our hotel had a pool, good food, good friends -- perfect! I seem to always be without my camera these days, but Eden got a couple good ones of us.

Dinner on Friday night at Ciao Mambo

Saturday morning at the Childrens Museum before heading to the ballpark.

Carb-loading -- I wonder if Cole is feeling deprived since we never have bread anymore? He filled his cart with as much bread and cereal as he could find!

Our little pizza chef.

oregon coast

2009-07-15T13:26:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we headed to the coast to spend time with some of my most favorite people. Gem and Mike were visiting from NYC, Sarah came down from Seattle, Rachel from Lebanon, and Sarah & James from Corvallis. Gem and Mike's friend Ben hosted us all (20+ people) at his families condos at Inn at Otter Crest. It was a wonderful time and a nice reminder of how lucky I am to have such amazing friends who have been in my life for many years!

Cheers! Lets get this party started ...

Beach by our hotel

The girls! Love you guys.

Oregon Coast Aquarium

Pedicab!

2009-07-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a pedicab ride thanks to Dan from Corvallis Pedicab last night at the Chris Nordyke State Farm First Monday BBQ. I'd highly recommend it! www.corvallispedicab.com

Cole + Justin

2009-06-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Justin lives across the street and is just a couple months older that Cole. They are just now getting to the age where they can actually play together (moving past parallel play) and it is so adorable. Today they actually passed the basketball back and forth like 20 times, which is a lot of sharing for little guys this age!

daddy's day

2009-06-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to an amazing dad and husband. We love you!

(one of my favorite photos ever)

yummy mashed potatoes

2009-06-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made mashed potatoes and Cole had his first experience with getting the mixer beater, which he loved. Who doesn't love that, really?

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2009-06-20T15:58:00.001-07:00

Twinkle from Rebecca Badger on Vimeo.

strawberries and baseball

2009-06-19T13:35:00.001-07:00

First berry picking of the season. I picked; Cole ate.

On the way to a Corvallis Knights game. Beautiful evening.

Getting into the game.

Good seats.

Heading home.

Daddy's shoes

2009-06-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

morning with the klinks

2009-06-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Cole spent the morning with Krista and the kids, one of his favorite things in the world. They were having a great time playing and creating ... until Cole came down with a fever. Poor little guy. Nonetheless, Krista managed to get some cute pics (of course!).

seattle

2009-06-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed up to Seattle to spend some time with Keli, Macadam and Sarah and to catch a Mariners game. We had a great time and Cole was a rock star with the car trip (yay!).

softball season

2009-06-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

Softball definitely marks the beginning of summer in our household! Every week we get together with Cory's team and their families for a bbq and the game. It's so much fun and this year Cole is old enough to enjoy it as much (or more) as we do. Here are some photos from the game tonight. The playground next to the field is one of Cole's favorite, so we split our time between the field and the slide.

i love you

2009-05-31T23:07:00.001-07:00

Tonight I was putting Cole to bed and we were rocking and talking, and he looked up at me and said "i love you." What a wonderful way to end my weekend.

spatula golf

2009-05-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

Cole invented a new sport -- spatula golf! He's pretty good at entertaining himself and I give him points for creativity.

Dr. Badger

2009-04-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

Cole is finally back to healthy after a week of being sick with a whole bunch of stuff including pink eye, an ear infection, and a 103 degree temperature. For a couple of days he pretty much just slept all day, had no appetite and was understandably quite whiny. No fun for any of us! After we got some antibiotics in him (which was NOT an easy job -- he fought the medicine like crazy), it wasn't long before he was back to his energetic self. My mom brought him this baby doll as a get-well present, which Cole likes to give medicine. We made up a medicine song to make taking medicine seem like fun (it didn't really work) so he sings it when he wants to give the baby medicine. Just like Cole, the baby gets medicine in her ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Good job, Dr. Badger.

Ride 'em cowboy

2009-04-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

A favorite recent activity - riding his rocking horse, exclaiming "weeeeeee" the whole time.

mommies

2009-04-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

Cole calls Cory "daddy" and he calls me "mommies". Not sure where the plural comes from other than that I often say "that's mommy's" when he goes to pick up something of mine that I don't want him to have. Anyway, there's not much of a story here, I just wanted to make a note of it because I'm guessing sometime soon he will transition into calling me something else and I want to remember the mommies stage.

SQUEEZE!

2009-04-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

Cole is really into giving hugs and kisses these days. My favorite thing recently is that Cory taught him how to "squeeze" so instead of giving a hug he wants to give you a squeeze, which just means a big hug and he says "squeeeeeze" while he's doing it. Makes my day, for sure.

Easter

2009-04-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

We hosted Easter brunch this year and had a wonderful time. My parents, Nathan & Krista and the kids, and lots of yummy food! Cole and Alex got all dressed up for the occasion, don't they look like such little men?

Check out the Klinks blog for some more photos.

some outside time

2009-04-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

We've had some good weather recently and its been really nice to get outside to enjoy the yard. The backyard is pretty much done after lots of hard work last summer, just adding a few plants and Cory has plans to build another retaining wall up on the hill. Cole loves any chance to be outside, especially if he can chase Farley around.