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| Then... |
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| ...and now! |
For now Cole is very happy being the baby of the family. Although he has been practicing his big brother skills out on his doll. He can be very loving and cuddly with the baby doll one minute and the next minute the baby doll is flung head first onto the floor. He definitely needs some more practice!
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| Cole holding his baby doll |
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| "I'm a messy boy!" |
Cole's vocabulary has grown quite a bit lately. He puts together 4 word sentences quite easily - "Mom, look at this" or "Mom, I want that" or his all time favorite "I don't like it!!!" which he usually screams at the top of his lungs. That boy definitely got a double dose of stubborn!
Cole's developed a signature smile all his own. He scrunches up his nose, squints his eyes and clenches his teeth. He will do it on command. All you need to do is ask "Cole can you smile?" and he does...
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| Cole showing off his smile |
Cole loves playing games. "Ring Around the Rosey" and "Hide and Seek" are two of his favorites. He's even invented a game of his own called "Go Back". He'll stand up in his crib (Yep, he's still in his crib. He sleeps so well in it that for now that is where he will remain. I already have one very bad sleeper. I can't have two!) Once he is ready, he'll say "Go back!" motioning backwards with his hands for you to take a step back. He'll repeat "Go Back" until he's happy with where you are. Then he'll quickly slap both his hands on his crib rail, signaling that it's now time for you to come and try to tap his hands before he pulls them away, usually toppling onto his bed in a giggling pile. He loves playing this game over and over again. He'll switch things up a bit by going all the way to the opposite ends of the crib, making me run all over which he gets quite a kick out of. Or sometimes he says "peek-e-boo" which is the signal for me to cover my eyes and wait for him to slap his hands and come running toward him. I'm guessing Mom looks pretty fun when I come running because it always ends up with him collapsing onto his mattress laughing hysterically.
Cole is constantly on the move. It can be exhausting just watching him (let alone running after him all day long!) And trying to get a photo of him...well, it has become a rather difficult feat! He was a late walker and is definitely making up for lost time. He doesn't even like to sit down to eat. He'd prefer to swing by the table for a bite and then be off to run around the house or play with another toy.
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| "See if you can catch me!" |
Cole really likes trains, especially Thomas (he definitely got that interest from his big brother Owen) and can accurately name several of them. It's adorable to hear him list off the engines...Thomas, Percy, James. But the way he says "Sir Topham Hatt" just makes you smile it's so darn cute!
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| Cole playing with Percy |
He's become much more interested in books lately and loves the series "That's Not My..." Lately, "That's Not My Bunny" has been at the top of his most read list. He also loves looking at pictures on Mom's computer. When he sees my computer sitting on the table, the first thing out of his mouth is "I want pictures". He knows how to work the program and scroll through each photo. He'll even let you know who he wants to see in the photo. His most often requested person is Nana Judy. Luckily I can just type it into the search feature and voilà...pictures of Nana Judy!
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| Cole and Nana Judy |
The number one most sought after "toy" in the house is by far the iPad. The moment Shane gets home from work, Cole, Owen, or most likely both are requesting the iPad. Both boys love it! And since we only have one, they are constantly fighting over it. We definitely need to work on the concept of "sharing" because when it comes to the iPad, sharing and taking turns gets thrown out the window!
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| Cole's a wiz with the iPad |
Cole is very fond of his big brother. He loves copying what Owen is doing or saying and wrestling around with his big brother. Cole loves hugging Owen over and over again. Owen is actually the one and only person that Cole is so generous with his hugs. I often ask Cole for a hug and instead of hugging me, he usually runs over to Owen and gives him a big squeeze. He sure loves his big brother!
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| Brotherly love |
Cole's taken after his brother and become quite the picky eater. While he's more open to trying new things, if it's not to his liking, he will politely pull it back out of his mouth and either place it back into your hand or toss it on the floor. He also got his mom's sweet tooth and love of chocolate. When asked what he wants to do during the day, he often responds "Target" because he knows that whenever we go to Target, he gets a free cookie.
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| "I'm sneaking another piece of chocolate!" |
This year Cole made the big transition to attending school all by himself. It's been quite a change for him as he is used to being with Mom nearly 24/7. He attends ECFE twice a week and Mis Amigos once a week by himself. Now he knows that Mom won't be staying with him at school so he is very apprehensive about entering the room. On many occasions I have to carry him into the classroom while he's kicking and screaming. Then there's the days when he is playing happily until it comes time for me to leave. Then he gets the most heartbreaking look on his face, making it even more hard to leave him. With the exception of the drop-off, I think he really enjoys school. The best is when we are at home and he starts singing away in Spanish. Then I know he's definitely learning something.
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| Cole ready for his first day of school |
We celebrated Cole's 3rd birthday at the Venetian water park (the same one we went to for Owen's birthday). But before going for a swim, we headed down the road to a cupcake shop to get Cole something sweet for his birthday. I think he would have loved his cupcake if he would have taken a bite of it. Instead he took a big bite of frosting which he isn't very fond of and was quickly "all done".
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| "Hmm...I don't like this." |
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| "I'll just rub frosting in my hair." |
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| "How do you like my new doo?" |
After treats, we unloaded our luggage and headed to the room. The boys loved riding the luggage cart into the hotel and all the way up to the room.
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| Hold on boys! |
It wasn't long before they were begging to go for a swim. They both love playing at the water park. It's the perfect size for them. It has both a tot area and big kid pool so there is no getting bored. They could easily spend all day swimming away at the water park.
A couple days later, we celebrated Cole's 3rd birthday with a big party. It was all aboard for a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday party. Cole's Great Nana and Popi Dineen graciously hosted the fiesta since we are a bit strapped on space in our rental house.
Cole had a wonderful time playing with Great Nana and Popi's toys, spinning around the chair in the office, and looking through their photo album.
Opening Cole's presents proved quite the adventure. Owen's taken it upon himself to assist Cole the last couple years. And I think Cole appreciated the help at that time, but big brother was still very much wanting to help this year and Mom had to keep reminding him to sit back down and watch. Cole was happy to get so many fun presents from his guests (and Owen appreciated them too!)
We had a fabulous time celebrating Cole's third birthday and were thankful that so many of our family was there to celebrate with us. Cole has brightened our days. He makes us chuckle with his adorable sense of humor and his silly faces. And he leaves us in awe with the new things he learns each day.
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