Christmas in North Carolina

Here are a few more pictures of our Christmas in North Carolina.

Well, this isn't Christmas but we did put in Cole's new car seat in our car so we could put his infant car seat in the carseat bag already packed for the airport. Cole enjoyed riding in his new car seat but I didn't like it so much because I couldn't readily see him or get to him as easy as I can in his infant car seat. It will be easier when we switch it forward facing. But this picture is of Cole after we opened his new car seat and had it sitting in our living room. He loved to sit and play in it for days until we finally put it in the garage.


Even though Cole, Rick and I all came down with colds while visiting it still was a very relaxing trip. Grandma and Grandpa Solotes totally took over the care of Cole so really Rick and I chilled most of the time and I was able to get some much needed rest with some long naps. We loved seeing North Carolina and enjoying some quality time together. As always, our time together is always cut way too short. However, we were even able to see Rick's dad and brother Jim as they were traveling on their way to Ohio after the holidays. This was the first time Jim and Cole met. Here are the Poling Men!


Cole wasn't in the spirit to open up gifts Christmas morning (a little cranky and tired) but he did open a couple up Christmas Eve - his red Christmas sweater and black pea coat from Grandma and Grandpa. He wore them both to the Christmas devotional that evening. At the devotional they had a real manger scene as well as animals, music, fake snow, and roasted marshmallows. Cole had his first marshmallow and loved it!


Cole warmed up to Grandma, Grandpa and his aunts really quickly even though he didn't feel well most of the time. It was a combination of teething and a cold. Poor guy! Here he is with his runny nose right after a bath.


And on our last evening there eating Daddy's spaghetti and making a mess. Doesn't he look proud of himself?


With Grandma Solotes


With Grandpa Solotes in his racing pj's (which I love).


And finally with Rick and his Aunts Natalie, Kaitlyn and Jillian


Hope everyone had a Christmas as enjoyable as we did!

Holidays and Updates

The past few months Rick has been taking pictures and video with his iPhone. I haven't been able to get them easily since Rick is working in College Station. For the holidays, we traveled to North Carolina to visit Rick's family. We've all been a little sick but it hasn't stopped us from having a relaxing visit and it is so fun to watch Cole with his Grandma and Grandpa Solotes and his young Aunts. I thought I would take advantage of the time with Rick's iPhone and update the blog with some fun pics and video.

Here he is in his raccoon hat and his cup of milk.

And on the slide at the park

Grandpa Poling came to visit before Christmas. We were so happy that Cole warmed up to him very quickly.

Cole playing at Daddy's desk

Cole and Grandpa Solotes

Cute pics of Cole and Daddy




Videos:

This is Cole and Cannon "playing" while we were babysitting for Ryan and Jefra. Cole was being pretty possessive with his toys and attempted to push Cannon away twice. What is so funny to us is he is trying to play AND watch his Baby Signing Time Video. He is a man of many talents!


Rick has a new administrative assistant at Miramont, we don't think he will last long though and he may be needing a new keyboard soon.


Cole is starting to push things to walk and he loves pushing this ottoman that is in the room Rick is staying in at one of the suites at Miramont. (And you can see I'm very pregnant.)


Cole loves the playground. He loves the swings - especially if you stand close where his feet will hit you and he likes to go down the slide but also tries to climb up it. He gets very upset if you don't let him crawl around in the wood chips or small rocks depending on which park we go to. He prefers the rocks and throws them up onto the slide and always attempts to put them in his mouth but gives mom a look before doing so, then slowly drops them as I shake my head no. What a character!

Busy Time of Year

Sorry! I know it's been over a month since my last post. Things have been crazy here with selling the house, searching for a house, Christmas, etc. Rick has got the cutest pictures and video on his iphone that I need to get and post because I have not taken any pictures of late. I will try to do that over the Christmas break because you will LOVE them. :-) In the meantime, my sister-in-law Jefra posted about Cole and Cannon with pictures when she babysat for us so I could spend the day in College Station home shopping. You can see it here: Rees Family. One pic is of Cole with Santa...it makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Well, our home is sold and it only took about a month! Yea! We don't close until January 27th though. So we scurried to go home shopping in College Station before we left for North Carolina to visit Rick's family for Christmas the 23rd. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to shop until January. It's been an exhausting few days but we found a house we love and hopefully the seller accepts our offer. We'll know tomorrow hopefully. It will be so nice to have that done so we can just enjoy the holiday without that worry.

One cute anecdote...last night we stayed in College Station with Rick. Well, Rick had forgotten to ask housekeeping to bring the Pack N'Play up for Cole and he couldn't find it so he was just going to have him sleep in our bed. He was actually a little excited because he has wanted to snuggle and sleep with Cole for a little while now and I wouldn't let him because I can't sleep with Cole next to me. So Rick kept him on his side and I'm sure he dozed off dreamily snuggling with his son (which I'm sure he loved - I get to do it so much with Cole for his naps - I'm so lucky!) Anyway, Cole started fussing about 4:30AM and it was on and off until about 6:45AM when I got up and fed him. So it was unsteady sleeping for me from 4:30 on but Rick was SO TIRED and said how very little sleep he got all night because Cole would continually roll right next to him and snuggle into his side which pushed Rick right up to the edge of the bed. I just chuckled and said "I told you so! I tried to tell you that you would not enjoy sleeping all night with the little snuggler!" When I nap with Cole, if I move away from him, he will roll to find me and snuggle in. This is totally fine for a nap in my opinion but not so great all night long! Guess dad won't be trying that move again. However, after waking up Cole was in GREAT spirits. I'm sure he was thrilled to have been with mommy and daddy all night.

Bubble Baths in Jetted Tubs

Cole and I went up to College Station and stayed at the Miramont with Rick this weekend. It was fun meeting Rick's co-workers and touring the facilities. It was like walking through the most expensive place I could imagine. This guy spared no expense in building this country club - blown marble walls, marble inlays in the wood floors, fancy fancy furniture, lighting exactly designed to accentuate every wall hanging and pillar. Amazing. Rick has been staying in one of the 15 rooms they have available there (yea, tough life). Sunday night Rick and Cole jumped in the jetted tub for a bubble bath. With the jets, it created quite the bubble experience! Cole loved it. They both looked like Santa Claus with bubble beards. Cole kept eating the bubbles too. I think they stayed in for a half hour and even then Cole didn't want to get out. You can see just how happy he is. They even took a second on Monday morning. Silly boys. Cole just laid back and relaxed during the second one. He is definitely like his daddy. I get bored sitting in a tub after about 5 minutes.


We also took the opportunity to look at neighborhoods around the club and further south in College Station near my aunt and uncle. Rick, my dad and Uncle Lynn went golfing at the club on Monday as well since it's closed to members on Mondays.

Cole doesn't really do well sleeping anywhere but his own room so that wasn't the funnest. He does better if I lay with him on the bed, but I can't move him else he wakes up and won't calm back down. So we ended up just leaving him on the bed and rushing in to get him when he wakes so he doesn't crawl or fall off the bed. He will go in the pack n'play for nighttime sleep with struggles, but I think if I want him to nap at all it will always have to be on a bed with me beside him until I can sneak off. He was so happy to be home Monday night. All day Tuesday he was giddy and silly playing with his toys and roaming around the house - like he had been gone for SO long. Oh how I love my silly boy!

Halloween and More

Halloween was a busy day for the Poling family. The Friday before was Rick's last day working for the Austin Country Club. He turned in his resignation a week prior and offered them up to 3 weeks to stay on but in the end they decided to promote from within and just did it quickly. Good think that was the same day he got a final offer from the Miramont Club in Bryan, TX. We already had prayed about this change of jobs and cities and knew that it was going to happen and was the right thing to do for our family. Yes, we are sad to leave friends and family so close in Austin but thankfully we aren't going that far away.

So for the past few weeks (really since Rick's interview there the first week in October) I have been getting the house sell ready. I felt this rush that I needed to get it done quickly. I am so glad I did. So I've been painting and repairing and getting glares from the neighbors seeing me up on a ladder. They've scolded but they also chipped in to help when they realized I wanted to chop down a tree growing in between our fence and the school's fence behind us all by myself. I was grateful for their help there. I have to say I'm proud of myself for fixing the fence, painting the gutters and wood trim on the house, cleaning and organizing all the closets, etc. etc.

Okay, back to Halloween...Rick painted the chimney as I wasn't about to go on the roof. I'm not crazy you know. We also planted flowers, weeded the garden beds, laid mulch, mowed and trimmed the lawn. Then dad came over, who is our realtor, and took pictures. The entire family took a nap after all that and we woke up so late we already missed the chili cook-off at church! Whoops! We came in time to get a little and to see everyone at the trunk or treat. Well, in my rush to get the house done, I failed to try on Cole's costume to make sure it would fit. When I first put it on him he kind of grimmaced - especially since his feet were pushing, pushing, pushing against the length of the little pea pod! Silly mom! But I showed him what he looked like in the mirror and then he was all smiles and laughs. He didn't mind keeping it on even though he was crunched and a bit warm. He even complained when we finally took it off for the night. I thought he would have been relieved!



Cousin Cannon wasn't thrilled with his costume but he managed to crack a little smile for me...


After the trunk or treat we went to my mom's house. There Cole saw trick or treaters and had his first lollipop! He LOVED it!

So our house was officially listed on Monday and we had a couple look at it on Tuesday. Their realtor called my dad last night and said they want to make an offer but are waiting on an approval letter from their bank. Wow! Let's hope it is a good offer so we can just move on to the next stage. I'll keep you posted.


So ever since planting flowers, Cole has been dying to pull off the mums. So the other day I just let him. He LOVED that. I didn't let him pull them all off though...

Oooh, flowers!

How many more can I pull off before she stops me...

It's okay this time??

So happy to have gotten what he wanted...

Cole's 1-Year Check-Up

Well, we went to the doctor today for Cole's 1-year checkup and all is well. His growth has increased like it should so she was pleased with that. Here are the stats, percentiles are estimates:

Length: 29.5 inches / 40% percentile
Weight: 19 lbs 10 ounces / 10%
Head: 46 cm / 40%

He still gets little red dots on his belly which are caused by allergies but there were three others that don't fade when you touch them. They are little blood vessels that burst. She said this could be a hereditary thing from me because I bruise easily, but if more show up he needs to have his blood platelet levels checked. The burst vessels can be caused from the way I hold him or even his car seat straps, etc. It apparently doesn't take much just like it doesn't take much for me to bruise.

Also, because he doesn't drink a lot of milk regularly (soy though, he's REALLY allergic to cow milk products), I need to make sure I feed him salmon (good thing he loves it), broccoli, or even try veggie patties with tofu. I'm going to try to find some soy yogurt too which will help him get the calcium as well. The problem with him drinking the soy milk is it doesn't come with as much Vitamin D I guess as regular milk which prevents absorption of the calcium. I didn't realize that they didn't add it. I'll have to check the labels and be sure before I start feeding him those awful tasting baby vitamins. They are so stinky and make his breath smell all day long. Ew.

He had a short morning nap today which meant we went to the doctor right when he was ready for another nap. Ugh. He SCREAMED bloody murder just taking his clothes off to get weighed. I have a feeling he also remembered the place from the week prior getting his flu shot because any instrument against his skin made him cry out and grab me like they were pinching him. Holding him down for the shots was awful. He didn't even want to lay down to get measured so you can imagine what it was like getting him to lie down for shots! We opted to wait until the 15 month visit to get his MMR that way he only had 3 shots this time and will have 3 shots next time. I asked a lot of questions about the MMR vaccine and the possible connections to Autism. He's going to get the shot for sure, especially since there was a measles outbreak in Houston just last year, but I wanted to wait a little bit. We have to take him back in about 4 weeks for a second round of the flu vaccine anyway since it takes two doses the first time you get it.

Cole also grinds his teeth. A LOT! Doc said that it's actually hereditary and that me or Rick must grind. I've already caught Rick doing it in his sleep before so we're blaming this one on Daddy. I hope he stops it soon because it is the WORST sound!

Overall baby is healthy and on track!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Yes, it's been birthday time for the Poling family. All of our birthdays are in October so we got together with family Monday night mainly to celebrate Cole's 1st Birthday. I seriously can't believe he is a year old already. Rick had to work on his actual birthday, the 20th, so we opened all his gifts on Monday too.


Cole wasn't really interested in opening them but was a little interested in the ribbons and throwing around the clothes once they were out. This little man loves clothes. Every time he sees an open closet he must go touch the clothes. He is the same way while shopping. He must touch and pull all the clothes off the hangers. I think it's hilarious. Anyway, Cole was definitely spoiled by his grandparents, as he should be! :-) He has had a great time discovering his new things like this rocking horse and walker!

He ate a HUGE dinner. Seriously, more than I've seen him eat in a long time. It must have been the meatballs. He's never had them before and he devoured like 3 of them! When it was cake time he wasn't too keen on having a hat on.


But calmed down so we could light the cake. He didn't know what to make of all this. We were going to just let him dive in, but then cut him a piece. Cole is going to be a neat freak I swear. He is always shaking his hands if he gets food on them and didn't mean too. He also points to the food that dropped on his leg or foot or floor or where ever so I wasn't really expecting him to "dive in" to the cake and he didn't.

He was very timid about it like he is with most new things. But I gave him some and he liked it. He just didn't want very much on account of having filled up on real food. (yea!)


Overall it was a fun celebration for the family. As you can see Cole continues to crinkle his nose...


And he is now officially drinking milk. He chugged an entire glass TWICE today. He didn't stop until it was gone. His eyes were turning red, he would breath through his nose and keep drinking. I was ecstatic! I don't want problems with not getting enough calcium so this comes as a great relief. The trick? He likes it after sitting out about an hour. He doesn't really drink it cold or hot, just sort of cool. Crazy. He definitely likes meatballs. I gave him more on Tuesday and he chowed down. He loves salmon too though we aren't a fan of his fish breath afterward. It's worth it for the nutrition though. He is just growing up so quickly. He doesn't army crawl anymore. I haven't seen him do it for weeks. He also doesn't nurse at all. It's been a little over a week for that too. He doesn't even act like he wants any. But I get plenty of cuddles, probably more than when he was nursing. He has really become a snugglebug when he gets tired and I love it!

Thanks Jefra for the additional photos! Luvs to all!

Videos and more

So life continues...Cole is getting to be the pickiest eater ever. So we've had a few days of struggle. When he throws the food he doesn't want on the floor or whines about it I take him out of the highchair. He cries and throws a fit. We start the process again. It's getting better. Thank heavens! His favorite is hotdogs and rice cereal, though he loves oatmeal, peaches, bananas and sweet potatoes but is finicky about when he wants to eat them. I try to get him to eat other things like more vegetables. He is so strong-willed which I love and hate. I know this is just a phase. Besides, he has had a runny nose and more icky teething days so he's probably like his mom and pop and wants comfort foods. Poor guy.

This is Cole's new favorite expression. Uncle Robert just loves it. I think it's cute but it is usually accompanied by a high pitched whine which doesn't thrill me after a while.


His favorite form of entertainment - pulling out dvds, turning the dvd player on and watching TV like this.


Him watching Baby Signing Time ....he cracks me up when he does this!


Sunday we tried on the suit Aunt Jefra bought for him at my shower. It fit! Unfortunately he had a cold so wasn't in the mood for good photos. This is the best I could do. Still adorable!


I have gotten some cute videos of him lately doing some of his favorite things like riding in the laundry basket and driving cars. The last one is him mimicking Rick licking his lips. It was so funny. He kept doing it too. I love those moments!

Lilah, Lila or Lyla???

Sorry to all those who have been patiently (or impatiently) waiting the results of the today's ultrasound. You can pat yourself on the back for all those who voted GIRL! She was being very modest but then decided to help us out in the end. However, our DVD didn't turn out as well as Cole's because the placenta is on the front of the uterus and baby was snuggled up to it most of the time therefore, no good 3D shots or even much movement on the dvd. Oh well. Here's a great profile shot and you can see the placenta (the big blob right in front of her that is about as long as she is).

We already agreed on little baby girl's name, however we do disagree with the spelling. Rick totally picked out Cole's name and vetoed every name I offered so I say we should spell it however I want since he's picking out the middle name here as well (because I still prefer to have no middle name for girls). So there is a new vote - let us know which spelling you prefer. Rick wants Lilah Noel but will compromise with Lila. I think it's best as Lyla Noel Poling. What do you think?

By the way, the baby is still measuring for a due date of February 22nd rather than the 16th but I'm not changing the countdown because I'm expecting to go early with Lyla just like Cole. (Keep your fingers crossed, but not too early, K?) She weighs about 11 ounces right now and everything is there in perfect order. Another thing about the placenta being in front is that it dampers me feeling movement from the baby. I had been wondering about that because I feel her move but definitely not like I felt Cole by this point and it's really only been a couple of weeks when I should have been able to feel movement before that. Apparently, it will make me more "comfortable" since I won't feel big rhythmic hiccups and kicks as much. I've only gained 4lbs thus far which mimics how much I'd gained with Cole by this point as well. I'd like to not gain as much this time around but we'll see.

On a downer note, I think we are all coming down with a cold here. Ugh. I blame it on my brother, Ryan, who is a high school teacher and just had to share all those ugly germs with us. Thanks a lot bro! However, Rick did just return from a trip so who knows what he picked up on the plane either.

And By The Way. . .

We are past the half-way mark in pregnancy #2! Only 3 days left to vote before we *hopefully* find out what this little one will be...it's now 50/50 for boy or girl! I have no clue which it is either so maybe that's why everyone else is too!

P.S. I'm not a very big Halloween fan. I like fall and the colors and the crispness of the air but I don't like scary, oozy, sticky, webby things or masks so I'm not a fan of all that. I'm not big at getting into costume unless it's really dressing up so that limits what I usually do. I know, I'm drab. Speaking of drab...am I the worst for not wanting to do a huge shindig for Cole's 1st birthday?!? I mean, we'll have cake and let him eat it (he probably won't since he sort of has an aversion to sweets...but he did chomp down some cherry fruit snacks at my mothers yesterday...hmm). We'll have family get together and such but as for themes, elaborate schemes, lots of people, etc. it just seems like more energy than I have right now. That's okay, right?

Teething Mania...

Right after posting about how well Cole was handling teething, we hit a week of crying and sobbing. Poor guy. I didn't realize until this week how very little tolerance I seem to have for crying when there is nothing you can do to soothe the child or stop it. Sometimes Motrin and Orajel just don't cut it either. He's just unhappy. He seems to be getting his right bicuspid in as well and it is causing a noticeable swelling in his face too. Anyway, I'm definitely learning patience. It started last Friday but he gave me a breather last Sunday. This was him during breakfast. . . soooo cute.


He isn't sleeping well so on top of hurting teeth, he is cranky. Every diaper change is an ordeal this week. I practically have to hold him upside down to get it on. He won't even stand up for me to put it on and he screams when I start undressing him to change it. He started the same reaction when I go to put him in the carseat when he just wants to be held. That being said, let me also state how AMAZING he is at playing by himself so mommy can get a little work done now. This has developed while he is hurting and wanting mom all day. Incredible how they mature in phases in the blink of an eye. His new favorite hobby is pulling out his pajamas from his changing table. I don't mind. They are just pj's! The bottom drawer is filled with odds and ends like bottles, pacifiers, changing pads, etc. He pulls those out too but his favorite is the pj's. He will turn around and look at you and seems to say, "See how great I am!?" Goodness, I love that boy!

My little man is really too smart for his own good. I was talking on the cell phone the other day and he wanted to talk as well. After I was finished I gave him the phone slid shut (you have to open it to unlock the phone). He was NOT having that. He grunted a little and handed it back, and then squealed. So I opened it and he was very happy pushing all the buttons. My word! Yesterday he was playing with the dvd cases in the TV stand where the dvd player is also. Again, I don't mind him pulling them out because they are so easy to just put back. I was then able to do other things...like check email on my ipod on the couch. When he crawls over to me and hands me a dvd. My first thought was shock since all the dvds are in the cases, where did he get it? Then I looked at it and realized it was "Baby Signing Time" which was IN the dvd player. He had opened it and pulled it out and brought it to me right away. (I know because I had looked up at him just a few seconds earlier and he didn't have a dvd in his hands or mouth or anything.) I laughed and went and put it back in and we watched it. He loves that video, well, at least the first 10 minutes or so of it.

Cole also loves the swing. He usually squeals with delight. I decided to bring the camera with me this morning but it was a little chilly out which I think hampered his excitement but here is a short video and a few pics anyway. This is not a look of terror but pure of pure ecstasy!