Mischief and Walking

So it was New Years Eve and I was cleaning in the kitchen and letting Cole play in the Tupperware cabinet. He loves that cabinet (but also loves trying to get in the cabinet under the sink too where all the cleaning supplies are for the kitchen). Well this time it went further than just pulling everything out. He decided it was time to try putting himself in it. As you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed himself!


A couple of days later, I tried getting him to walk using his push toys again (he usually just crawls behind them and pushes them). Well, this time he got it!


Two days after that Cole took his first steps. He took 3 steps in the afternoon to be exact and did not attempt it again that day. But it didn't take him long to get a handle on this walking thing. I would catch him taking a step or two but when he would see me look he would immediately sit down. I guess he is like his daddy and doesn't want to be embarrassed while trying to learn something new. We were playing one evening with the vacuum (it's a favorite non-toy of his) when all of the sudden he stands up, walks over the hoses and then proceeds to walk towards the entry. I grabbed the camera and caught all the spills as seen here.


Then he turned around to walk back to the kitchen and didn't fall once! Every morning he wakes up unsteady and unable to really take more than a step or two but by the end of the day does really well with balancing and even walking on slippery tile with socks on! I'm really not rushing this walking bit but I LOVE watching him walk. He is so careful about it all!


He is also started to squeal and scream with delight when he gets really excited. This face may look a little scary but he is tensing up and squealing with pure excitement. Funny boy. He loves sitting on Grandma's ottoman.


In other news, I decided to switch doctors to one in College Station as we are definitely planning a move on the 22nd of January. We will be back in Austin Sunday the 24th until closing on our house here on the 27th, then head back to College Station and close there on the 29th. I went to the doctor last week and everything is just fine with me and baby. I was relieved to hear that I wasn't dilated or effaced but baby is head down. I'm hoping little Lyla actually doesn't come early like Cole. More time to get situated in the new home would be GREAT!

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?

9 Month Photos and More

So pics from this post are those we ordered from Cole's 9 Month Session. It seems we just had them done but here it is almost time to get the One Year! Just remember these are scans of the actual photos. Which technically I guess I'm not supposed to do that but since I did let me say something about the photographer. She's awesome. She's really good at what she does if you like the studio type shot. For the young babies, I do. We did some with natural lighting (see 4 months) and in the end with all the skin fixes for babies blotchiness, etc. the pictures we got just weren't his coloring really. They were beautiful but I think I prefer studio shots for babies and outdoors or natural lighting for older kiddos. Just my opinion I know. She is great at being patient, having a million different classic poses and backgrounds with new toys for babies to enjoy. She used to do it out of her house but just moved to Round Rock. Yuck. Anyway, the BEST thing about Lesley is the prints you get. I cannot adequately describe how beautiful they are. I've never seen a print like it - ever. They are basically like thin pieces of wood almost with gold around the sides if you looked at it from the side. There is not a print paper name or anything because it isn't paper. It isn't canvas either. But it's sturdy and the clearest picture I've ever seen. I will end this with a disclaimer: She's expensive. Had we not gotten 4 free session we would NEVER have gone with her. The prints, though beautiful, are paid for in the price.

In other news, last Monday I decided to try and give Cole baby Whole Wheat Cereal. He had some around 6 months but didn't handle it too well. I remember he spit it up. Well, I only gave him 3 bites and almost instantly he started acting sick. He got really pale and just wanted to cuddle and he whined while we rocked. I was so sad for him! About a half-hour later he seemed to be feeling a little better so we went and sat on the bed and talked to Rick. Suddenly, from out of nowhere he vomits (over me and the bed I might add...ew...) I threw him in the tub and started to wash him down while Rick cleaned up the bedroom. (Thanks Honey! So glad you had the day off work!) Cole didn't like the bath at all and jumped into my arms soaking wet to get out. I wiped him down quickly and got him out. He cuddled in his towel with Dad for a long time, then seemed to be doing a little better. I gave him some Benedryl and we started to get him dressed. When I stood him up he vomited again. This time a little over me but Rick caught most of it with the towel. (Thanks again!) Tears filled my eyes. How could I do this to my little boy!?! How was I to know such a violent reaction was going to happen?! It took a few hours before our little man started smiling and laughing and willing to get down from our arms. I was so baffled by this reaction because Cole eats wheat bread all the time as well as regular cereals with wheat in them, pastas, etc.

Well, we ran out of soy milk on Tuesday but when we went to the store I thought, "Well, he's had cheese and a little milk and hasn't had hives like usual so maybe he's ready for milk. It's cheaper and has more fat which is better for him." I bought whole milk. So onto Wednesday. He had eaten some lunch but was still a little hungry so I mixed up some oatmeal with whole milk. Again he had three bites when he shivered and grimaced his face like he had with the wheat cereal. I instantly stopped and waited for the sick reaction. I didn't really get one but I quit feeding him. I had a piano student come by for her lesson about 20 minutes later and about 20 minutes into her lesson Cole started throwing up. I was faster to recognize his signs and got him to the sink ASAP before everything I was wearing was ruined as well as the carpet. The poor guy emptied his stomach for sure. But this time he felt better very quickly afterward. What kind of mother am I?!? I was so distraught. I pulled the wheat cereal out from the trash and read the ingredients..."whole wheat, whey protein"...wait, WHEY PROTEIN! That's a milk protein. Oh my goodness my son is allergic to whey. That has to be it because why else can he eat cheeses and other milk products and not get so sick? Now granted, he never eats a lot of them but he doesn't grimace nor does he get sick at all. Well, now we know. By the way, unlike other instances with milk when he was younger, no hives, no rashes, nothing. Just vomit. Such a weird reaction for an allergy. Maybe it's not an allergy? He's definitely not sick though (besides the bad 3 days of teething we've had this week...ugh...just when I wrote how good he was doing too...)

In pregnancy news, I already feel as big as a house and every night I am so bloated and gas-y from all the day's food I'm guessing (just what you wanted to know, right?) that I feel monstrous before bed. I'm glad that each morning I'm back to somewhat normal. Still, I know I wasn't this big at this point with Cole. I feel so much larger in my hips and butt than I did with Cole too. Guess the second just feels different. Oh well!

And finally, stolen from Jefra's blog (Thanks!) a pic of Cannon and Cole. Cole kept trying to put his finger in Cannon's mouth but we failed to get a pic of that and we were heading out at this point because it was Cole's naptime so he wasn't too excited about a picture session. This is the best we could do. :-) Cutie Cousins!

And We're Back!

It seems I've become a slacker blogger. My apologies to everyone! So much has been going on and to be truthful the time I could update the blog has been spent napping. Even my house and chores are in need of an "update" from my lack of attention. But all in good time...

Pregnancy Update: Things were going swimmingly when all of the sudden I started getting a little cramping. Not anything that caused pain but enough that I knew something was off. I started to pay attention to when it started each day and it was when I was nursing Cole. So I called the doctor and they said I was probably dehydrated (not good) and that I was to STOP nursing him ASAP. That's always a risk when you get close to 20 weeks and still nursing that it causes actual contractions. More on that later. I'm having Braxton-Hicks contractions two or three times a day. I don't mind them at all. They just remind me, "oh yea! I'm pregnant!" And, yes, my belly popped. I'm definitely showing. I'll have to see if I can get a picture. Last night I was particularly bloated too and even Rick said "WHOA! Look at that belly!" Besides that things are great. And for those of you who think it's a girl, I might add that this baby is particularly low - often sitting on the ligament above my leg, preventing me from standing up straight sometimes after sitting down for a while. Still think it's a girl? Guess we'll see soon enough!

So back to Cole...I immediately decided to stop nursing Cole during the day and move him to just a morning and night feeding. I prepped myself for the worst possible reactions from Cole. When I had tried this earlier he would scream and claw at me to nurse and no matter what I did he wouldn't move on and be happy until he nursed, even if it was just for a little. He normally nursed after each nap and then would eat. So after his first nap he was fussing and did so until I got food in him. And then he was great! The same thing happened after the second nap. It's been six days since stopping those feedings and if anything, it has matured him. He goes down easier for naps (aka. not begging to nurse to go to sleep) and often falls asleep quickly while singing to him. He would NEVER fall asleep in your arms previously. Maybe the timing was just all right but I'm grateful. He nurses very little for the morning and evening feedings as well so I'm sure those will be easy to get rid of too. At this point, the morning feeding is more just Mom being lazy and wanting to lay down longer!

No smiles but still my cutie-pie!

Obviously, without the nursings in the day, he is taking a sippy cup and doing very well. He really only likes water though which I guess is okay. He likes to feed himself and hold the cup by himself too but in both cases when he is done he throws the cup or the food. So I'm not a big fan of letting him do it all by himself. I hate messes and broken cups.

He has figured out that when we are in the kitchen we are most likely preparing food. If he is eating baby food he will instantly stop and beg for "real" food. For example, last night Cole and I went to a mexican restaurant with my parents. He was eating his baby food just fine until he saw dad eating chips and salsa. My parents thought I was insane for telling them to give him a chip (He'll choke! It's too hard! He'll scratch his throat!) But Cole started fussing and begged to get out of the highchair. As soon as they gave him a chip of course he was just fine and ate it just fine too. I've learned that if he starts choking, you just get it out and he won't ask for that item again. If he doesn't like the taste or texture, he'll just spit it out, but you HAVE to let him try it or there's no end to his complaining. He just wants to be a big boy. So he enjoyed tortillas, rice and a little guacamole for dinner instead of baby food.

Cole got this little puppy from Grandma and Grandpa Solotes when he was born.

It's always been out in his play things but he just barely developed a fascination with it and particularly his nose. He will grab him, hug him and then eat his nose and laugh. It's adorable. I have yet to get a good picture of him playing with the puppy (which also makes barking noises which he also thinks is cute). He's just so quick to stop once he sees the camera.


Cole loves to play the "jumping" game (where he turns around and jumps - or rather falls sometimes - into your arms). He also loves to try to get away from you so you don't "get" him. He particularly likes this when dad holds him and can move him away really fast from mom, the getter. Here's a video of one instance. (Warning: I cannot watch this from all the moving of the camera - it makes me sick. So if you are sensitive to that, just listen to that little boy laugh. It's good for the heart!)

In other news, this week marks the official start of traditional crawling. He has lifted that belly off the floor and stays on his hands and knees. Now, he is faster scooting or army crawling, as some call it, so if he's in a rush he resorts back to that. He is acting more and more like a little boy. Cole now has two bottom teeth and is getting his top two. He has some bad teething days but for the most part he's a trooper. I also noticed a bump in the back of the left side of his mouth - a molar! Yikes! That should take awhile to break through. No such bump on the right side though. Also, he has "found his voice" and "talks" so much of the day. I love to hear his babbling. I try to figure out most of it. Sometimes it's easy because he'll point outside and start talking. I'll look outside and see a bird or know that he wants to go outside and we'll go. Now this past Sunday I wasn't so happy he was so vocal. At church, due to Rick's position in the church, he has to sit up front. Now, normally there are adults sitting in front of us so Cole has a hard time seeing his dad up front. Well, last Sunday there was just a family with a bunch of little girls sitting in front so he had a clear shot to see dad. This was fine until Rick started smiling at Cole. Cole instantly starting screeching for dad. Grabbing for him and standing on his tippy-toes. It was adorable but none the less bothersome as it was church! I had to keep distracting him and get him to look behind us or down so he wouldn't see dad and start reaching for him again and get loud. I wasn't really bothered by it because I love to see how much he adores his daddy. Just worried that he would be bothersome to others around us. I guess we have lots of years of that to look forward to!

On a totally different note, while Cole and I were on our front porch waiting for dad to get home I spotted this little critter. I don't know what it is...locust, secada? It was dead or dying but what the heck is on it's rump??? Any ideas??

And finally, I can't believe my little babe is almost ONE! 1! Un Ano!

Baby News

Nothing really exciting to note but thought I'd fill you in on the new baby. My nausea has now ceased (THANK YOU!) but I'm still so tired and since I'm still nursing I struggle to stay hydrated and nap. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and heard the heartbeat again. The first time we heard it, it was about 154bpm. Wednesday it was 150bpm. I think Cole's was always in the 140's but I can't recall exactly.

We have the next doctor's appointment and ultrasound on October 5th. Yes, we will find out the sex of the baby then as well. Which brings up the next topic and new poll - Girl or Boy?

Chances it's a Girl: I wasn't at all sick or tired with Cole. Different sex or simply second child? Slightly higher heartbeat. Normal or Sign of girl?

Chances it's a Boy: Rick's father only had boys. Rick's Grandfather only had boys. Hmm...

What do you think? I'm excited about either option. A boy would be easier since we have all the clothes and the boys would have so much fun growing up so close in age. A girl would be fun because it would be new and we would at least have one of each already.

P.S. A gender predictor based on the mother's age at the time of conception predicts a girl.

Also, I think I forgot to mention that they changed my due date to February 22 when it was the 16th. I don't mind. The baby will come when it wants to come anyway!

Baby Adventures

So some may have wondered what exactly is "BIG" on Cole's shirt...so here are a few more pics with a better view of the T-shirt.

It says, "BIG BROTHER, February 2010"

And here are the pics of his little sibling thus far.

(The scary alien picture every baby is sure to love)

The little babes will be about 16 months apart - sure to be lots of fun for mom and dad. On the other hand, the new little baby will also have a cousin born (or is due to be born) about two weeks after!! Yep, Beverly hasn't updated her blog but she and Robert are expecting a surprise 3rd little one. Jade and Jeremiah are SO excited to have a little baby of their own now! There are babies everywhere in this family!

Latest Word

The latest from the doc - still dilated 3cm, 50% effaced and the baby has dropped quite a bit but still has more to go. Basically, her take on the situation is if I were to start contracting, Cole would be here pretty soon. Last Friday I cramped and had Braxton-Hicks (aka. false labor) all day. After that it was back to normal. We'll see what happens this week.

FYI: The picture was taken last Saturday - 36 1/2 weeks along. Now only three weeks to go! Speaking of last Saturday - it was awesome. Rick was away on business on my birthday so he treated me to an entire day of being with me and doing what I wanted on Saturday. It was seriously one of the best days - ever! It's not very common for us to get that much time together without worrying about being somewhere else or having to do something else. Thank you Love!!

4 Weeks and Counting...

So with only 4 weeks left, the docs start giving me the stats. Today's appointment went swimmingly - just like all the rest. I actually saw the nurse practitioner, Brittany, today. She asked me if I knew how big the baby was and how much I was dilated. Well, I haven't been told any of that. She said that was because I had a great pregnancy so far so the doctor really hasn't worried about any of it and therefore, didn't say anything! I've put on 26 pounds total weight so far. She estimated that little Cole is about 5 1/2 pounds which means if she's right that he'll be somewhere between 6 and 7 pounds depending on when he comes and how accurate she was. So now that we have a guestimate - how about we guess the delivery date and the weight - see the survey to the right and add your guesses to comments as well!

I'm already 3 centimeters dilated which doesn't mean much at this point because he hasn't dropped and I haven't felt a single contraction. We're still expecting an on-time delivery but as Brittany said, "You can deliver any day now - we're just waiting!". Eek! I would be ecstatic if he came early, but not THIS early! Besides, my parents are going on vacation tomorrow and Mom says baby Cole will already be on her bad side if he comes while she is away. Don't worry Mom! He's content doing turns and stretching a whole lot in my belly! Oh, I thought with all of his movement he had turned around and was in the breach position, but he is still head down. Good boy! I don't want to worry about that.

I'll have another appointment next Thursday so stay tuned!

Baby Shower

Yesterday we had the baby shower for our upcoming little one - Cole Frederick Poling. My sister-in-law Jefra with the help of my sister-in-law Beverly and my mom hosted it at my mother's house. Here are the hostesses:
I was expecting dark skies, wind and rain due to hurricane Ike but it turned out to be a gorgeous day and the storm went right past us without a drop. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from friends and family. I know everyone is as excited as we are for this little guy to get here. Now that we have the nursery almost set up and a closet full of clothes for him as well as other necessities, I'm afraid I'm going to get awfully anxious for him to get here but we still have a little over 7 weeks to go - or longer if he decides to cook a bit more!

People keep asking for pictures of the belly and I wish I could say I have some but to be honest I haven't pulled out the camera in a long time. There are a few pictures from the shower - which Amy Jones photographed for us - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! (Because otherwise we probably wouldn't have had any pictures.) A few weeks ago while my sister Kylene and her husband Jeff were here we had Rees family pictures taken and I'm just waiting for the proofs online so you'll get good shots of the tummy. But for the meantime here are some highlight pics from the shower. I'll try to remember to take the camera out more.

I had another doctor's appointment on Thursday of this past week and everything is still going great. I know I blogged before about how I wasn't putting on weight but let me assure you that is not a problem any longer (as you can tell from the pictures)! It's odd to be able to count how many appointments I have left. Two more in the next four weeks and then once a week until he decides to show his little head!

Temporary Wallpaper...

So I am so excited about this news I had to post it. Perhaps it's been around for a while but I just found out there is temporary wallpaper. Sherwin Williams sells "EasyChange". I love the texture of wallpaper but I hate how awful it is to change. I have been hesitant to do anything to change the walls from their basic taupe color for the nursery but temporary wallpaper might just be the answer! They have designs that are textured which are great for any living area. I loved these. The stripes are great under a chair railing for the nursery!

Sonagram Video Finally!

So we left for a week long vacation and this video didn't get uploaded as soon as I expected due to technical and user difficulties. But finally - here it is! I edited the original video from the ultrasound so you wouldn't have to waft through 10 minutes of garbage since it's so hard to tell what everything is when Baby Boy kept moving so much. But here are some highlights! Enjoy!

Drumroll please....

Our baby was being especially uncooperative during the ultrasound. The poor technician was chasing his hands and feet everywhere trying to get accurate pictures. He just wouldn't stop moving. We just hope he gets all this energy out NOW! The technician asked me if I'd had a double espresso or something for lunch! No, just a really REALLY active baby! I think she felt so bad that we weren't getting good pictures that she switched it to 3-D so we could at least have one good look. Well, at least the baby cooperated when it came to knowing if it was a boy or a girl.

So without further ado, here's our little baby BOY! Well, at least his cute little foot.

We are so thrilled! Mommy knew it was a boy all along. Daddy needed convincing. I just know we'll have a sweet little tenderhearted boy - just like his Daddy! He's a bony little thing right now but that will soon change!

Now I can't believe I have 19 weeks to go! Like I said, we didn't get a lot of good pictures, so here's video of our little one cuddling into mommy, being bashful, yawning and trying to get his thumb in his mouth (we think). [VIDEO IN PROGRESS]

Baby Update!

I felt the baby move today! In fact, it almost made me sick. I was on my way to the doctor and I had to stop by the bathroom to make sure I wasn’t going to lose my stomach. Then it calmed to mere butterflies. So cool.

The doctor was concerned because I’d only gained 2 lbs. since coming in. She thought that maybe I was sick or not eating. Neither is true of course. So she says it’s probably just because I eat healthier. She said the average is 10-12lbs by the 20^th week. I’m only at 18 weeks but I can’t imagine gaining 8 more lbs in 2 weeks. We have the anatomy sonogram set for June 26^th! I’m so excited I can’t stand it. So only 22 days left to vote for your choice!

A New Post!

Yes, after 7 or 8 months we finally have some blog-worthy news. Normally we lead quite boring and routine lives around here, but we think that's all going to change shortly!


We have finally told our immediate families and have started on the extended so we thought it would be okay to share it with the world now!

The baby is doing well with a solid heartbeat of 160bpm. The little monster already sleeps with his arm over his eyes - just like his/her (???) dad does. We won't know whether it's a girl or a boy until the end of June and about half tell us all the signs it is a girl and the other half all the signs I have that it is a boy. Guess we'll have to see! But just to be generic I'll be using the male pronouns. It took us a while to get him to move his arm so we could see the face. If you look closely, you can see the palm of the left hand (especially the thumb) just under his nose as he was backing his arm off of his face. That streak next to "Profile" is the little foot moving like crazy. We were able to see the heartbeat (as well as hear it later) and the results of the screen were all normal.

It finally became real that we were having a baby once we had the sonogram because Kristina was spared all morning sickness and felt pretty normal for being pregnant. It took Rick a while to believe we were FINALLY expecting a little one - he made me take multiple tests and then wanted the doctor to test again!

So here we are now just waiting for the next phase of our family to begin!