Mess

It has been quite entertaining and fun to watch Cole eat lately. However, not so fun when I have to soak his clothes for days after each meal....but since he's eating all table food now, he has become quite the messy eater!

Example #1:

"Can I PLEASE touch your face mom...please???"

Example #2

"Can I have the camera if not your face?"

Cole has also learned how to share his food. He's so sweet....he'll even chew up the food a bit, and THEN give it to you....yummy!

Last.....Cole has just learned how to drink from a straw. I know, the little things in life that excite a mom! He also is no longer using a bottle (except in the mornings when I'm running late and don't have a clean sippy cup). I feel like all of a sudden he is doing all these new things. I can't wait till his birthday to show everyone his tricks....."Cole...sit, roll over, walk to mom, laugh"....ah, I can't wait!!! :)

Oh Goodness....

Just all of a sudden....today....he decided to start walking. Oh gosh! 5 steps was the most he took, but wow!! Nick kept saying he'll be walking by his 1st birthday and I thought for sure it would be another month, but I may be wrong! Yikes! Where has this year gone?



Yes, this was during the Vikes/Cowboys game, so that's why we're all decked out in purple! Woohoo...go Vikings!!!

Our weekend...and how Cole hated me, for about 10 minutes

We had a pretty low-key weekend, Nick and I were pretty excited because Friday night we made steaks, potatoes, my apple salad, had a bottle of wine....dinner was great, but both of us falling asleep on the couch by 8:30 was not so great...ha! We are losers! AND, if we would have known that Cole was going to sleep till almost 8:00am both mornings, we would have stayed up a bit later.
Saturday we needed to do a little shopping so we packed up and headed out. We had a great day at the mall and then had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, thanks to Ellery and Briana for the gift card, and even enjoyed a free piece of cheesecake. That's my kind of lunch!

On Sunday, we tried cleaning up our house as it was a disaster. I wanted to clean it so bad, but it pretty much took me all day just to put things away and organize, so I didn't even get to the cleaning part. This is next on my list of "to do's"...does anyone think my closet needs a little attention???

In the mix of our Sunday tidy-up fest...I decided to go do something a little different to my hair. I have been debating on if I want bangs or not, literally, the last 2 times I've gotten hair cuts I hum and ha over it and then just can't pull the trigger, yesterday I just decided to do it.
Weeellllll....when I got home, Cole acted like he didn't even know me, he cried when I tried to take him and he just kept staring at this strange lady. Finally after about 20 minutes he started to warm up to me. I even walked out of our bedroom and Roxy barked at me like I was a stranger in their house...ha! I don't have a picture, but I will post one soon!

Side Note...yesterday Nick put these clothes on Cole (and I promised Nick I wouldn't take pictures or tell people what was on the front of his jersey), but after Cole's feet almost started turning purple because they were so tight, we decided to take them off. They were like capri sweat pants...ha!

I think Nick is pretty anxious for Cole to start walking, even though I think it will still be at least another month, however...Nick keeps trying As you can see by this video, he wants nothing to do with it.

10 for 2010

Some resolutions for 2010

1. Read more: I have so many good books that just keep stacking up in my room that I NEED to start reading. Now that I have read all the "Help me be a better parent" books and I sort of have a good handle on this parenting thing, I really want to start reading for pleasure now. Some books that I really want to get through are:

• Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult
• Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
• Kidnapped by Dee Henderson

2. Get Nick to read a book: Yes, "A" book....in the almost 9 years we have been together, Nick has yet to read a book for fun! Crazy! He has read tons of computer books, but it's my goal to get him to read a book and enjoy it. He says that as soon as he starts reading, he falls right to sleep....which leads me into my next resolution....

3. Quit Watching TV before we go to bed/Possibly get the TV out of our room: Over this past summer, I was on the road/vacation so much and never had a TV to help me get to sleep, and I just got used to that silence and really enjoyed not having the TV on. However, Nick says that he can't fall asleep if the TV is off. SO....this is why I want him to start reading. He says that reading puts him to sleep right?....so this works perfectly, he reads, falls asleep and we don't have to have the TV on! Now I just need to find a book that he might like. Hmmmm.....

4. Don't let the TV be my babysitter: Now, sometimes turning on Baby Einstein is necessary while trying to juggle a pot of boiling water and you don't want your child at your feet playing with the tupperwear, so it's probably in everyone's best interest to get him out of the kitchen and distracted with something else. However, I've always been so used to coming home from school, turning the TV on and keeping it on (mostly just for background noise) till we go to bed. I really want to try to do more outings or just play more with Cole. I don't want him to get used to having the TV on. A friend of mine that teaches kindergarten said that she can tell withing the first few minutes which kids watch a lot of tv and which ones don't. I feel like kids don't "play" as much these days, with all the video games and things on the computer and TV's. I want Cole to experience being a kid and just play.

5. Church: I want to get more involved at church. I don't want to just go on Sunday's and call it good. I really want to get involved with a small group. My brother and sister-in-law got a group of couples together and have a small group Bible study a couple times a month and I would love to do something like that.

6. Be Healthier in general: Now that Cole is on table foods and eating pretty much everything we eat, I need to start eating like how I feed Cole. I try to feed him mostly organic, whole foods...so why is Cole eating Chicken, broccoli, tofu, and beans, and Nick and I are eating store-bought pizza!?! We need to be eating what Cole's eating!

7. Stay with Dave: Nick and I started the Dave Ramsey plan awhile back and we've done great so far! It definitely has not been easy, but when we are completely debt free (besides our house) this coming year, it will be so worth it! Cashiers always look at me funny when I pull out my envelopes and pay for our $170 grocery bill with cash..ha! It works for us and we need to make sure we continue on with it. Our goal is that by the time baby #2 comes along, I will be able to stay home and not work.

8. Be a better Wife: Nick and I need to go on more dates! The first half of Cole's life, I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him, especially at night and having other people put him to bed. Probably b/c he's never been the greatest sleeper. But now....he's so easy to put to bed and is pretty easy to handle now. So...bring on the dates! Side note: Nick won a couple of his fantasy football leagues and won A LOT of $$$$....so I told him he has to take me to the Melting Pot, My fav!!!!!

9. Be more creative: With meals, decorating our house, adventures, projects....this is coming from a girl that doesn't have a creative bone in her body!

10. Pay more attention to our puppies: I knew this would happen...baby comes, dogs go to back burner. They are just starving for attention and I feel so bad when they look at me with those cute eyes and just want some love. We need to walk them more and love on them more!

Sadly...it's over!

Why is this cute baby all bundled up and ready for winter????

Probably because we just spent the last 12 days in Wisconsin and Minnesota and holy cow...it was COLD!!!!

This post is lengthy, so I'm going to split it up into 3 parts.....

Part 1: Christmas weekend in Rice Lake, WI.

We arrived in Rice Lake on Christmas Eve and spent the Christmas weekend with Mary and Don and their family. (This is Grandma Tracy's sister's family). It was so fun because as we were driving on Christmas Eve, the snow was falling and it was such a pretty snow fall. At this point it wasn't TOO cold, in the 30's maybe. We spent some good quality time with the Cuskey family and Cole got tons of presents! He got so many toys, and thank goodness because all the new toys kept him entertained while we were there.

Grandma Tracy showing Cole how to play the piano

Grandma was so anxious for Cole to open some of his presents, so here he is on Christmas Eve opening one of his presents.

Dad and Cole....ahhhh!!!

This picture cracks me up (and this is for you Grandma Betty!), Nick's grandparents sent Cole this cute bear for Christmas and as soon as he saw it, he gave it the biggest hug. So cute! He kept hugging it over and over.

Granddad showing Cole how to use his new airplane

Don and Mary had a firepit in their backyard and we spent part of the evening out there. (Yes, Cole was in bed at this point, I'm not that mean).

Nick and his Aunt Mary

Granddad and Grandma Seeman

Another present from Granddad and Grandma....a riding firetruck!!

Our time in Rice Lake went so fast, but we all had such a great time. Unfortunately, Cole did not sleep well the entire trip, he just does not like being away from his bed. To start off, he was getting 3 new teeth on top (yes, all at once) so those were bothering him so his sleep got interrupted from that, then the rest of the trip, he just wanted to sleep with mom and dad. Otherwise, he would wake up every 3 hours...ugh! So hopefully he will get back into his normal routine now that we are home.

Part 2: St. Paul and the Mall of America

After the Christmas weekend was over, we headed back to St. Paul and spent a few nights with Nick's parents at their condo. We obviously had to hit up the Mall of America since it's the greatest mall ever! We couldn't go too long because Mr. Cole got sleepy and this stroller is not the greatest to sleep in.

As you can see....Cole is so ecstatic to be at the Mall

Cole enjoying his lunch while at the Mall

Cole got this cute Viking outfit from Mary and Don so Nick wanted us to take a "Family Picture". Ok Nick....I'll put on this horrible purple sweatshirt of yours and take a picture...haha!!!

Me and Nick being silly

Part 3: Volk Wedding.....aka, the craziness begins!!!

My parents and brother Ross flew into St. Paul and they also spent a couple days hanging out with us and Nick's parents. Then, we went with my family to Elk River, MN to attend my cousins wedding. Now, my dad's side of the family is huge so when we all get together, it's pretty crazy! Just on my dad's side of the family, I have 38 cousins. We had a great time with all the wedding festivities and again, it was SO cold. Nick and I got into the car the night of the wedding and it was -18 degrees outside. Brrrrr!!!

This is Cole with Grandpa and Grammy Volk at my cousin Dana's rehearsal luncheon...he's being such a ham!

I love this picture of my dad and Cole, the both look like they are having so much fun.

Nick with my cousin Doug while at the wedding

Nick's parents were so generous that they came all the way out to Elk River and watched Cole while we stayed at the wedding. Cole came with us for most of it, but after dinner, I think both Nick and I were ready to have some fun. So, we took Cole back to the hotel and Nick's parents watched him the rest of the evening. We sure had a great time at the reception, there was lots of dancing, laughing and just being crazy. Cole with my little cousin Lauren at the wedding dinner

Let me explain the next couple pictures.....I have a crazy cousin named Garett. He's a little strange and well...you can tell by the pictures. He's always been crazy, but this was the first that I have seen him wear such a large amount of facial hair.

Rubbin the belly

While everyone was down eating breakfast at the hotel, Garrett decided to join us while wearing these awesome pajamas. Oh goodness.....he even had a butt flap in the back!

We flew home this morning, giving me most of the day to get things situated and organized, but I HATE going back to school the day after getting home. I wish so bad I could have one more day. As much fun as we had, we are glad to be home and be in our own beds. I know Cole is very excited about being back in his bed. Next thing on the agenda....start planning Cole's 1st birthday party!!!

This is a video we took this afternoon while Cole was eating lunch.....such a happy baby!

Finally...

When Nick and I took Cole in for his 9 month appointment a couple months ago, the doctor asked us if Cole was clapping or waving bye-bye yet. Um......nope, but he gives high fives!!! ha! I really wasn't worried that he hadn't achieved those milestones yet, but this weekend, he finally did both! We even got him waving on video. We were so excited when he started waving and then last night we were over at Ryan and Casey's playing around with their karaoke machine and Cole started clapping. Yay!!!!


We are finally out for over 2 weeks for Christmas break! I am SO excited! We leave Wednesday for Minnesota so I'm spending the next 2 days getting packed.
I'm just hoping we are all completely healthy by the time we leave. I swear I've been battling a cold for over a month now...as soon as it starts to clear up, it all comes back. My head literally felt like it was going to explode last night, so at 4:30am, I made a trip to Walmart to get some Sudafed. I was absolutely miserable.
Then to add to my awesome luck, last Friday I woke up with my eye plastered shut. I went to the doctor that morning to find out I had a scratch on my cornea which then got infected, which is "technically" Pink eye. Luckily, I didn't pass it off to Nick or Cole...but my chapped, dry, cracked hands are a result of my obsessive washing. :)

We can't wait to get up to Minnesota to see family...let's just hope we don't freeze up there!!! Brrrr!!!

Rough couple of weeks

As much as I love winter, the cold air, snow (well, not so much in Texas), warm drinks, fire places....this cold air has been rough on all of us! I feel like I've been battling a cold for a month now and poor Cole has been dealing with the same. Cole has been sneezing, coughing, runny nose and a super chapped face. He just has not been his normal happy self and it's so sad to see. Plus, he's getting one of his top fangs (not sure what that tooth is ACTUALLY called) so he's been drooling, cranky and really clingy with his momma, which I love but can get tiring after awhile. Plus, it hurts Nick's feelings :(

I'm ready for our bubbly, loud and social baby to be back to his normal self, so I can't believe I'm about to say this...but I'm ready for warm weather!!

Another interesting thing that has happend to us this past weekend....our son has all of a sudden decided that he doesn't want baby food. At first I thought it was the whole teething thing and he just wasn't in the mood to eat, but after many attempts and food being flung across the room, we just gave him table food and he ate that fine. Last night I made a chicken, potatoes, green bean dish and he ate everything with us. He loved it! Since I've never done this whole parenting thing before, I really didn't know when babies stop eating baby food. I assumed that since he's only getting his 3rd tooth, that he wouldn't be quite ready. I guess they let you know what they are ready for.

I'm about to order Cole's 1st birthday party invites.....I can't believe it's almost been a year! We haven't thrown too many birthday parties in our day, so I'm starting to realize all that goes into it. I think after his 1st birthday, I may hire a party planner for the rest of his parties...ha! Good thing I'm a boy mom, b/c if I had a daughter, she would thoroughly be disappointed in my decorating abilities. :)

How's this for a cute face!?!

Poor little Max (Tracy's dog) is now an only child.....Sterling went to doggie heaven last week. It will be sad not having Sterling around and as Tracy said tonight..."who's going to clean Max's face now?".....we nominated Dennis (father in law)...ha! :)

Cole....you are LOUD!!!!

The other night we were just hanging out at home and had to take some video of our child being obnoxiously loud!!!! It was quite hilarious...even the dogs don't quite know what to do with him.



This video was from tonight...it's amazing what makes babies laugh.

Birthdays, Christmas lights and family

With this past weekend being my birthday weekend, we got to do a lot of fun things! Friday night we just hung out at home and played with Cole. I'm always so exhausted on Friday's so being at home was fine with me! We gave Cole a bath and took a few pictures...we had to get a few shots in before he started screaming because we torture him and make him wear clothes to bed. Sheesh, what mean parents we are!

This is a shot AFTER we got him dressed and was in a better mood.

Saturday, I wanted to do a little bit of shopping. My parents gave me $$ for my birthday and I have not been shopping for myself in several months mainly because Nick and I are doing the Dave Ramsey stuff and sometimes that fun stuff just doesn't fit into our new budget. Anyhow...I think my family new I'd been itching to do some shopping so I really appreciated the money and gift cards!!! We wanted to go shopping after Cole took his mid-morning nap....and as you can see, he decided to take his nap on me! :) ha! I didn't care, Nick and I watched a movie while he napped, and that was nice because we don't get to watch a lot of movies these days.
We headed out and did some shopping, ate lunch together, watched Cole flirt with a little girl and then we headed home so Cole could take his afternoon nap before we headed out for dinner with Nick's family.
Here I am with my birthday nachos :) Actually, Dennis really wanted these and even though I was completely stuffed from dinner, we humored him and got them anyway...ha!
Here is Grandma Tracy playing with Cole during dinner. It was kind of nice because usually when we go out to dinner, I have a hard time "enjoying" the meal because I'm having to tend to my son, but I sat on the opposite side of the table and Tracy and Emily pretty much watched him during dinner and I was able to just sit and enjoy my meal.
After dinner, we decided to walk around for a bit because Frisco Square was having their big tree lighting event and there were tons of people and fun things going on. Frisco Square has an amazing light show during the holidays so those were fun to see. We didn't stay out too long because it was COLD!!!

Sunday we went to Nick's parents house and watched football, ate chili and most of all, we went because Nick's family dog, Sterling, is not doing too well and is probably going to be put down this week so we wanted to make sure Benson and Roxy could see Sterling and play with him one last time....sniff sniff!! He's such a sweet dog and will be missed so much! He and Benson were buddies since Benson was a puppy, so I'm sure Benson will miss him!
Here is a picture we took of Cole with Sterling so that Cole can see who he is when he's older.Here is a video of Cole playing with his new music table that Grandma and Granddad got him. He absolutely loves it and has been "dancing" like crazy.

Bound to happen sometime...

It's been 10 months and Cole has been absolutely sick-free, no fever, cold...nothing. Well, I guess it was bound to happen sometime. Cole got his first bug. He started getting congested before Thanksgiving and I think flying and being in a different climate (Colorado) did not make him get any better. I absolutely LOVE Colorado, but that dry air was killing us! Then a few days later he started getting a cough and the cough has just gotten worse and worse. Since it had been going on for quite awhile I decided to call our pediatrician and see what they say. I was a little reluctant to call at first because I know that they can't do much for babies under 1 year. I talked to the nurse and she actually recommended 2 homeopathic medicines. I had never heard of them before but these are what a lot of the holistic, homeopathic doctors recommend using. She told me to get Lithy Tree and Briar Rose. I guess it's actually good for anyone to use during the cold/flu season to boost your immune system and she recommended us using it before we travel since flying sometimes gets people sick. ALSO, it is something that is good to take before kids get vaccines to boost their immune systems because if kids are sick or their immune system is compromised and then they get vaccines, that is when they can have bad side effects.

I really appreciate these types of doctors that don't just push drugs on their patients because that is what the pharmaceutical companies tell them to prescribe. I know it does not benefit our doctor to recommend these remedies and not get any proceeds from prescribing drugs, so that shows that they really are doing what they think is best for our kids. Ok ok, I know all this stuff is a controversial, but it's my blog and I can write what I want! :-)

I ended up taking him into the doctor anyway because he was sounding very raspy and kind of weezy so she checked him for RSV and to make sure he wasn't contageous. He does not have RSV and he should be getting better in the next day or two. I think being back in our climate should help....but by the time he gets back to normal, it will be time for us to pack up and head off to Minnesota for Christmas. Whew....what a busy time of year!
I guess I can't complain about him being sick, I mean, it's definitely not fun...especially when he was waking up for several hours during the night, but going this long without being sick is pretty good right!?!