And Then There Was Cole - 11 months old

My dearest boy,

You are a charmer. You have us all wrapped around your little pinky -- even your sister! You'll pull her hair and she won't even flinch. Your bright eyes and your contagious smile helps us all enjoy life just that much more.

You are still the blondest kid I've ever seen and you still don't have much hair. You've got long tufts on the top of your head that still stick up. I've had to trim your hair around your ears, and when I compare it to the locks when you were born, it's crazy different! Dark brown versus white.

4 teeth now. You drool a lot.

We're pretty much on a nice routine at the moment. Took me long enough, but we're in the swing of things now. You are in bed before 7, you wake up at 5.30 or 6 to nurse, and then back to sleep until after 7am. You'll have two naps per day (first from 9 to 10.30 and the second from 12.30 until 2) and then a catnap late in the afternoon. You're eating most foods now, but you have a preference for bread and veggies. You're not a big fan of fruit (huh?) and meat (uh, come again?). You have to feed yourself, so now pasta or rice isn't really on the menu because you don't want me spooning it to your mouth.

You're a very active boy. You love crawling and climbing and exploring. You can now stand on your own, but not for very long. Your preference for crawling is the "bear crawl" or crawling with one knee and one straight leg. Wood floors.

You love your mommy. And, how. So, I got my momma's boy. You don't like it when I'm out of your view for a moment or two. I mean, I know that I'm totally rad to hang out with, but dude, sometimes I just want to quickly get the phone or get Zoe some food, or get a glass of water. We'll have to work on that.

You are growing up so fast (yes, every parent says this) and you are the loveliest boy. I find myself trying to "freeze" moments in time into my brain (like when you pull yourself up by my hair and bend over sideways to say hello), but alas, since I'd forget my own head if it wasn't screwed on, it's to no avail. I'll need to step up the video and picture taking since those small moments so easily pass.

You don't like the word "no" ... but baby... too bad. You'll hear more of it, this I'm sure. Zoe even says "no" to you a lot. She knows the rules. No chewing on books. No touching the oven. No licking shoes. You'll learn youngling, you'll learn.

Hugs and kisses my almost-one-year-old,
Mommy bear
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