Food, Faces and Races

Days go by and it seems Cole does something more advanced or new everyday. The other day he seemed so bored. His favorite toys are the musical ones so I put his bumbo seat on the piano bench and let him "play" the piano for a bit. He was content there about 20 minutes without me having to be there either! I loved it and he did too. No banging was involved either as he played nice!


Cole really is not taking well to 3rd foods. Actually, he just doesn't like any foods with meat in them unless it's Applesauce & Chicken which basically tastes like applesauce. So is my son telling me he's a vegetarian??? The doctor says it can take up to 10 exposures to a new flavor before he may accept it. At this point, I'm not sure if it's the meat flavor or the bits of food in the 3rd stage foods. So I'll have to backstep. But I needed to share his reaction when he is barely tolerating something in his mouth. Sometimes it's a food he doesn't like and he eventually keeps his lips closed and won't open them or sometimes it's just when he's nearing completion for eating.

Yep, no great winces, just wrinkled nose and heavy breathing! I think it's hilarious!!

Last week Cole officially had pizza. Well, at least the crust. He LOVES it. Now when he sees pizza he knows exactly what it is and WANTS it. Here he is Friday night enjoying his crust.

And finally, Cole is getting quicker at the scooting/army crawling. It's almost a froggy hop sometimes. He loves to race to dad best. This was taken Sunday morning before church. Enjoy!

San Antonio and Nine Months!

Last weekend Cole and I accompanied Rick to San Antonio to the Westin La Cantera Resort. Rick had to go for a Country Club Managers Association meeting. They have them for the local chapter somewhere in Texas 3 times a year and then a National meeting somewhere once a year. Since the room was paid for it was really just food cost in us going. We loved the hotel and enjoyed our entire weekend. Cole loved being with dad so much (and so did mom) and was really very fun. The nighttime sleep wasn't the best for mom but Cole actually did really well the first night. He awoke only once at 4am. I didn't sleep well because there was a baby in the room next to us who decided to wake up and cry just about every hour of the night...and since I'm still tuned in to babies crying...I was up every hour. Ugh.. The second night Cole was up a few times and was really, really upset. He didn't even want to nurse. After one of his wakings he passed gas and then was SO CALM, so I am just assuming he had gas pains all night, hence the crying and waking. Poor guy!!

While there we went swimming and saw some exotic animals like a hedgehog, bearded dragon, hissing african cockroaches (disgusting), an african constrictor snake (ew), and tropical birds. There were more but Cole was sleepy so we left. This group called Zoomagination brings the animals to the resort. They get them from people who used to own them as pets but then decided they either didn't want them or couldn't care for them adequately. There was so much to do for little kids there. The resort is right down the street from Six Flags so needless to say the resort was filled with families the entire weekend.

Part of the meetings was a dinner at a local country club. The theme was a hawaiian luau. Everyone commented on how well behaved Cole was. He really is SO good, and especially so in public. He is so fascinated by everyone and everything around him that he really doesn't even make a peep!


As I said before, Cole thinks Daddy is all fun (and well, he is). Rick had Cole on the bed and was trying to change his diaper and get him in his PJs. I was brushing my teeth when Rick calls me out to see what our son is doing. As soon as he was naked he started rolling all over the bed and laughing. Of course, I had to get a pic. I'm sure he'll hate me for this later, but he's the one who did it! And if you look close you can see his little tooth which popped up last week.


Cole is officially 9 months old! We had our checkup Tuesday and all is well. He is still only weighs about 18lbs but is now 28 inches long. He's such a little guy and so mellow in his personality so the doctor wasn't surprised that he isn't crawling. He does TRY though. Here's a video for proof... he just get SO upset and only manages to pull himself along the floor. I think I need to let him stay upset until he figures out that I'm not going to save him and he can do it. We'll see.

The doctor did give me some advice on getting him to drink through a straw. I tried it that afternoon and it kind of worked. Then I tried again yesterday evening and viola! Here is the result...drinking formula no less! We may be on the road to some freedom here!

Sleeping, Eating and Drinking

I am SO ready to sleep through the night. I started turning Cole's baby monitor off so I would only hear him if he were REALLY crying ... okay, screaming. It worked. He's sleeping 11 hours most every night. The problem(s)?

1. I still wake up during the night at least once or twice. Grr!!!!!! Sometimes it's around 5AM and I'll hear Cole squirming or whining trying to fall back asleep so I'll go in and nurse him (since I can't sleep either and it helps solve problem #2).

2. He really needs 12 hours of sleep in order to make it a good 2-3 hours before another nap. But he can only make it 11 before starving for food. So I deal with a pretty tired baby in the morning.

I've also decided since the babe can only go 11 hours, going to bed at 7pm and getting up at 6am was not satisfactory for mommy. So I pushed bedtime to 8pm. It fixes the morning problem but adjusting his naps so he can make it until 8pm is still in the works. He really fights a 3rd nap now so I'm trying to delay the morning nap until 10am (have yet to make that one) and then a 2nd nap at 3pm. Right now we're struggling to even make it to 9am and 2pm. But we'll get there!

The best part about Cole staying up later is we've gotten more time with Daddy and he has decided it is SUPER funny when dad turns his back on him and walks away. I thought maybe it was just the after 7pm bewitching hour, but he was laughing at him this morning too since Rick didn't go into work until later. Cole has definitely figured out that Dad is the funny one. I've got a little on video but I'll try to get more.

(Note his look towards me for approval after standing...funny boy.)

We bought some blocks for Cole this week and he loves them. Well, he loves mommy to build them up so he can knock them down. Such a boy.

He is eating more baby food and actually eating fruit by itself without having to be mixed with rice cereal. He loves Cheerios but I have to watch him close because every once in a while he won't chew it enough and he coughs. He also doesn't have the the coordination to put them in his mouth. They are simply too small for his manly hands!

I'm desperate to get Cole to drink from a bottle, a sippy cup, a cup, anything! I'm just ready for him to not be so utterly needy for mom. Rick and I are going to San Antonio in a couple of weeks for a weekend stay at a fancy-smancy resort. He has to go for a business conference so why not enjoy it?! Now as it is getting nearer and nearer I am dying to go alone without baby! I hope that doesn't sound awful. I just think it would be more fun. But without Cole being able to drink enough from any of the above options, it's impossible. He will nibble on bottles and silicone sippy cups. He will drink a little from less secure sippy cups that just drip out when you tilt them. He will drink from a little cup too but not enough for a full dose of milk that he wants and it would certainly be messy in the end. I'm not saying I don't want to nurse anymore, I'm just saying I want other options too! I'm thinking he's too old to get him to take a bottle but if that's what will work, then I'll buy 30 brands if needed to find the one he will take. Same for sippy cups, etc. Any ideas?

Oh yes, and the first baby tooth popped up. It's just barely above the gums but the other is close behind as well!

In other news...

Cole and I went to College Station last weekend with Grandma and Grandpa to spend time with my Uncle Lynn and Aunt Barbara's family. Okay, and their new pool too. It was the first overnight stay for Cole anywhere. He didn't sleep too well in the Pack 'N Play but I think he would have done better if we'd stayed another night. I figured out too late it wasn't really where he was sleeping so much as it was too DARK where he was sleeping. I forgot he has a nightlight in his room. Here he is being so patriotic like his daddy.


It is hot, Hot, HOT here! Cole takes it pretty well though. Give him a cracker, a hat and some shade and he's content.

Daily Activities

Cole really sticks anything in his mouth. Every time he sees me drinking from a straw he wants to put it in his mouth too. He doesn't really know he's supposed to suck on it too. At first I was afraid to let him just play with them, but thus far no incidents and he loves them!


I took video of his nighttime play routine. As soon as I walk into our guest bathroom he throws up the biggest grin. So on evenings when he is a little fussy I'll play with him in here. Well, last night he got in his giddy mode. He just chatters away. This is actually a sign that he is SUPER tired, but I love to see it. As soon as we left and changed his diaper the crankiness began and the whining didn't cease until I laid him in his crib. I'll take giddy baby chatter any day as a sign for being tired over the whining and crying!

During the day Cole and I don't usually watch TV because we have more fun things to do, but if we do decide to turn it on for a change in routine, I have two favorite shows on PBS.

Word World
It is on at 10:30AM here. It is totally not for teeny tots like mine but we both like it. Some children shows really annoy me but this is so creative, the music is catchy and I haven't seen an episode yet with an annoying storyline. They build words and then the word turns into the object. The artistry behind it is so inventive. Cole likes the colors and the songs. I get the "Build a Word" song stuck in my head everyday we watch it.


It's A Big Big World
This isn't as exciting as Word World. It's a mellow little show, kind of hippy-like. It works to help wind down before his nap sometimes. It's on at noon everyday. The show is puppeteering with a green screen backdrop. Again, I like the songs and someday Cole will think it's very educational too.


On Monday, Daddy finally got to go swimming with us. We were at the Lifetime Fitness pool so we couldn't bring any floaties for Cole. It was in the evening and getting a little cooler too so we didn't stay too long but we had a great time!


And finally, our little guy has teeth coming in - It's about time! He hasn't been acting too fussy or anything. I didn't even notice these puppies until Wednesday.


And for the close up...


We'll see how long they last hidden in those gums!