Many thanks to my very talented friend Erin Fults for another great job capturing some memories of our precious son. http://www.erinfults.com/
Cole's personality: Cole is generally cautious, doesn't like anything "wild" or uncontrolled, and is generally very obedient. He rarely wanders off and prefers to play in whatever room or area of the yard Momma or Daddy are in. He has a very sweet personality 90% of the time and we really have a lot of fun together during the day. He plays well by himself and his new favorite spot is sitting in his booster seat at the table and playing with cars and other toys on the table. He loves to be outside (as long as it's not too hot), play in the dirt, and most of all 'help' by putting anything and everything in the trash can. He loves to play with small amounts of water but isn't interested in a kiddie pool of it - he'd much rather play with the hose or a bucket of it. One of his favorite things to do is collect items in his arms. He will spend large amounts of time trying to figure out how to gather all the items he wants to hold into his arms at the same time.
Favorite toys: Balls, his plastic dinosaur, his wooden hammer from Aunt Carolyn, his plastic sheep that makes a "Baaa" sound when you push the button on it, books, his flashlight, cars (anything that rolls gets a "Choo Choo" sound - whether it be a train or not :)), the P90X resistance bands, anything small that can be collected in his hands or arms and carried around the house, any phone (or anything that resembles a phone), his tag-along wooden snail from Aunt Jill, his toy piano (he's recently gotten into dancing), and on the rare occasion that I let him play with the baby wipes, pulling those out and putting them back in is GRAND fun.
Eating habits: He would eat a banana at every meal if given the opportunity, he loves red grapes as well but no other fruits unless they're mixed with something. Loves green beans and corn but no other veggies unless mixed with something. Loves cheese and any kind of meat other than white meat chicken (he loves dark meat). Loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, yogurt, cottage cheese, pasta, and rice. He's not a big snacker. Generally he eats 3 meals a day with a snack for diversion but not because he seems hungry.
Milestones: By 1 year old he was eating pretty much all table food. He started crawling at 10 months and cruising almost immediately after that. He took his first step Dec. 19 (14 months old) at Aunt Jill's wedding reception but his cautious nature kept him from being a full-time walker until he was 16 months old. He hated falling (still does) and is a very careful walker because of that. His first discernable word was "bracelet" at 18 months followed by "bye-bye", "dada", "night-night", "ball", "dinosaur", and now at 19 months he attempts to say most of the words we ask him to. He can say "mama" but never uses it to address his momma :(. He's still a little confused on sounds so it's hard to know what else he's saying. Such as, every time you ask him to say "Mimi" he says "Na-na" so he may be speaking in full sentences and we just haven't learned the lingo yet :).
Sleep: 95% of the time he loves to go to bed. He doesn't want you to read a story or sing a song or do a "bedtime routine". Once it's time for bed, he's ready to be put in, prayed for, snuggle up with his blanket, burp cloth, cup, and a few toys, and be left alone. He plays in his bed for 20 minutes or so after you put him in there, but never talks while he's playing like he does the rest of the day. He plays quietly and eventually falls asleep. Naps are also usually uneventful and he often smiles when you lay him down as he cuddles up with his blanket. He appreciates sleep :)
Cole is such a joy to have. He has such a sweet personality, isn't stubborn or strong-willed at this point, and happily be-bops around the house after Momma while she does chores and "helps" unload the dishwasher, put laundry in the dryer, pick up his toys (with lots of direction), and is just a little treasure. He loves to wrestle with Daddy when he gets home and LOVES to play "stealing" games with him where he steals the pillow from under Daddy's head and then Daddy steals it back and on and on it goes. Not that he's never a pill, but generally speaking his sweet nature that I felt like he had in the womb has continued from that time on. Pitching a fit for him generally consists of a few wails whle bending over looking through his legs (not sure why this is) or sitting down, and then he's usually able to move on. He's gone through spurts of kicking, hitting, and a few days of biting, but those are generally short-lived and then we get a reprieve for a few weeks from the angry fits and go back to the ones that he doesn't put much effort into. What a blessing and a treasure God has given us in our wonderful boy.
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