Apropos of Cole

Potty Training Success! Hooray!

2010-05-13T16:05:00.003-06:00

So, it's been a week now and as of today we are done with the training. Cole only had accidents during the first 24 hours and was going to the potty on his own the second morning of training! Today marks the final step - he's now doing number 2 on his own and get this - he takes the toilet brush and cleans the toilet after he's done (this is after he's flushed) so that it's totally clean for the next person. How sweet is that, right?

Looking Out a Window

2010-05-07T15:02:00.004-06:00

We started potty-training Cole yesterday and it was a really, really rough first day. No matter how strict I was about following a schedule he just kept going on 'off' times (usually while I was getting Sophie or changing Sophie). He peed twice in the front room right in front of the big window and once in the tv room (thank you God for hardwood floors). Anyway, so yesterday was rough. So rough in fact that last night he told me I needed to share the Mother's Day crafts he'd brought home from school with daddy.

Today has been better. We had an incident at a friends' house but we both stayed calm and just changed the wet clothes out for dry and moved on. Then we went to lunch at 'the big W' or Wendy's. We were sitting near a window and suddenly he got up and went over to it. Now, keeping in mind what he did each time he was near our big window yesterday I immediately sprung into action, "What's going on? Cole? Cole, are you peeing? Do you need to go to the bathroom? Cole?"

He turned his head slightly in order to meet my anxious/frantic/harried gaze and said, "I'm just looking out the window." Sometimes looking out the window really is just looking out the window. Good to know.

Moments ago he sprung from his seat and ran into the bathroom and peed. All.on.his.own. And here is where you see myself and Scott leaping up in the stands cheering and whooping and doing handstands and summersaults. We're not in the clear yet but we can see the clearing.

Dusting off the blog

2010-04-05T12:45:00.002-06:00

It's been so long since we last updated the blog. I've gotten in the habit of noting anything memorable or timely on Facebook and Scott, well, he's just uber busy. Today I took the kids to the park for a morning playdate. It's been so nice to return to these park playdates! Cole met up with a friend from school who also recently added a baby sister to his family. Sophie is a couple months older than that little bitty but they're already really interested in each other. Cole and D. tore around the park and ran up and down the equipment at lightning speed. After that they both led the way to the little kid park where they were content to cook and dig and just play in the sand. Sophie went on the swings for the second time in her life and was full of smiles until the camera phone came out! She loves being in motion and chuckles when the wind blows on her face.

We have misplaced our cord to download pics from the camera but as soon as it's recovered we'll post lots of new pics for everyone to enjoy.

Happy Spring!

How did you grow today?

2009-08-02T23:52:00.003-06:00

It is late Sunday afternoon, and we are in Sophie's future room clearing out the remainder of what used to be a craft room and catch-all for our household.

We are discussing what to do next and where to put the furniture once it is reassembled, and Cole is in the alcove where the changing table is (loaded with things still on their way out--stacks of magazines, Isabel Blooms, etc.), trying to move it.

He is obviously getting frustrated with the changing table and, likely, our lack of assistance in moving the table to wherever it is that he feels is a better place for it.

I ask him what he's doing and get, "I trying move it."

I ask him where to and get a bit of a rant about it that is hard to make out.

To this point, he has been trying to pick up the table and move it forward, against its length. He lays into this effort some more while we continue to talk about the room and our lack of motivation against the seemingly insurmountable list of to-do work and the ever shortening time (8 weeks) before Sophie shows up.

From the alcove we hear, "Look! I do it. I do it."

Cole has abandoned his headlong shoving of the table and adopted a more effective approach, lifting the end and pivoting the table on its long axis. He is obviously thrilled with his ability and success. Once he has cleared the table from the wall enough to access the back, he ends his Herculean effort and comments gleefully, "I getting my 'eeps n' ow-ns."

We look at each other confused, as he climbs behind the table, continuing,"Teacher Tracy tell me at school. I going 'eeps 'n ounds."

Two things are of note here: 1) he tends to associate a lot of what he knows and thinks to doctors and teachers. The teacher thing has been happening for a while, perhaps because we use the "Teacher Beth" card a bit too much, as in, "Teacher Beth wouldn't be happy to know you're up late on a school night." The doctor thing is more recent and likely the result of the numerous visits to the OB/Gyn, and often manifests itself as, "My doctor say I can't eat it," (referring to one of Melanie's dietary restrictions, and 2) the addition of a consonant makes the difference sometimes.

In this case, a "d" meant that he was growing in leaps and bounds, which made his announcement clear and adorable all at once.

Apparently, Teacher Tracy (one of three) has been remarking to Cole in school (you know, back a couple of month ago) how he has been growing in leaps and bounds. Hence, his being able to move the table translates into a moment where he was "getting" the leaps and bounds.

Up until that moment, I wasn't sure what that phrase meant. Now, I think I do.

Picnic with Cousin Liz

2009-06-25T11:24:00.011-06:00

Thought I would post some pics from the picnic we had a couple weeks ago with Cousin Liz. We went to a nature center near our house - it is so peaceful there! They also have a great playground in addition to the usual trails and exhibits. Here's some pics!

Okay and this next one is the resident wild turkey - just in case you've never seen on up close...

And here's just a whole bunch of ones I snapped of Cole that day...

Mail's Here

2009-06-04T12:03:00.002-06:00

Cole has learned a lot while in preschool this year. He's great at letters and numbers. Cole's always been imaginative but now he links it to real-life scenarios that he's observed throughout his day.

While playing yesterday, Cole gathered all of his palm-sized sponge letters and placed them in a sand bucket. Then he went to various points in the living room and placed a different letter at various points in the room. He opened cabinet drawers, reached up high for shelves and table tops and each time he'd call out my name, daddy's name, cow or baby and say, "Mail's here." When he was all done he presented the empty bucket to me and said, "Mama I delivered all my letters!" I know we're biased but Scott and I thought this was pretty clever of our little man.

Baby Kicks!

2009-04-07T16:46:00.002-06:00

Cole and I are sitting here relaxing - waiting until it's time to pick up Scott at work and a certain little one inside me has been kicking nonstop for a good while now. I think it's been about fifteen minutes but it's probably been more like five...either way - it's very persistent and I'm loving it. Oh and for a word from Cole just know that the bridge mama is growing (we don't know where the bridge idea came into his mind but it's stuck) is getting bigger or rather the Mama Bridge is getting bigger.

That's all for now!

A New Kind of Day

2009-01-16T15:08:00.002-06:00

This week Cole and I have carved out a new sort of routine. When he gets home from school we have lunch and then make our way up to his room where, as he so sweetly reminds me each day with one hand on his heart, Cole has toys. Today though we didn't play with the normal set of toys. No today I was informed it was time for school and I needed to take my seat. Then it was time for the Hello song which I of course should know but sadly do not. Teacher Cole was quite disappointed by this but tried his best to teach me. It involves the word Hello of course and the name of classmates and apparently has some different interpretations. In one rendition some hand waving came into play, in another some complex clapping, and in a third the shaking of an invisible 'thing'. The fourth version seemed to be a combo of this Hello song and the more familiar (to me at least) Name song - meaning there was patting on the legs in a drum-like fashion. I tried to make up words and even tried to sneak in the Name song but this just made Teacher Cole cluck his tongue and move on after giving me one final, "Sorry, Mama," accompanied with a look that told me I am so last year. Note to self: Email Teacher Beth for the lyrics to this Hello song.

Teacher Cole, it turns out, is very strict. Once the singing portion of class is through you are to clean up and play with toys. Only not really seeing as every toy is his. Also, if you would like to read that's fine but again, all the books belong to him so 'sorry' they belong on his pillow rather than in your lap. He will read the books to you but he likes to skip ahead to the last page and then slam it shut and again say, "Sorry, all done."

This all reminded me of why I didn't like school so much. Never enough reading time.

Happy Birthday!

2008-12-25T00:49:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Coley! It's technically Christmas morning and we need to get you to bed so I have to keep it short (for now!). We can tell by your smiles and laughter and contented sleep that you have been enjoying your road trip and all these birthday celebrations. So, for the last time this year - Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Coley Cole Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!

Water for Christmas - check this out!

2008-12-12T15:48:00.012-06:00

So a cyber pal wrote a post about a charity her friend turned her onto. Here's the cause:

http://www.charitywater.org/whywater

This is a great cause and you should really look into it. As an added incentive let me just say two words: Quad-Cities. Yep, Josephine (see Please Come Flying on our family links to the right) singled out some of the dancing videos (oh, didn't I mention there's dancing?) and amongst her favorites were a couple from none other than Davenport and Bettendorf. You're on the link now aren't you...that's fine I'll still be here. Okay, so spread the word to those you know about this great cause and blow off some steam by checking out a few of the videos. Here's Josephine's top pick:Dan the Man Bettendorf, IA

Have a great weekend!

The Kluesner's Came to Town

2008-10-16T12:03:00.022-06:00

Well, Drew, Heather, and Alicia win the prize for being our first non-familial visitors from out-of-town. Since the first time Cole met Alicia (when she was just a few weeks old and he was about six months old), he has just adored her. Whenever he sees her blog, he touches the screen and talks about her.

We met up with the Kluesner Fam at the Minnesota Children's Museum on Saturday morning. Despite our best efforts, we were late (go ahead, we know all the jokes!), but this time it really wasn't because of us running late or being lost. Nope, this time it was all about the traffic. We found ourselves following a never-ending detour until, finally, Scott veered off and steered his own path. His internal gps system never fails to amaze me, and on this day, it was definitely up and running. So, we all met up and discovered the benefits of going to the Children's Museum on a non-free day. There were hardly any kids running around, unlike the thousands that, I swear, swarm around the place on those free days. Yay! Less germs! :)

When we got there, Heather found us and led us to the music video room where Alicia was rockin' out. Cole was shy at first, but once we made our way over to the huge kitchen, he found his own groove. While the kids could've stayed there and played happily forever, we managed to lead them to some of the other attractions.

Cole really loved loading these rock/brick thingys, and I was all but too happy, taking loads of photos for the sake of posterity. While Cole was hard at work, Alicia was enjoying the various features of the water area. After the two kids had their fill, we made our way up to the third floor, where they have a ball room that features various arrangements of wooden and plastic tracks that you can roll golf balls on. Balls, balls, balls, and oh my, even more balls fill this room. The kids can play ski ball, watch balls wind up and down a giant ramp, or around and around on a pole. They can even nail each other with balls-as-big-as-your-toddler or, you know, roll them through a maze. Finally, we made it to the quiet 'dream nursery,' but by that point, we were all starving, so we hurried off to find food.

As we wrapped up our meal, we decided it was too gorgeous outside not to do something outdoors to enjoy it. So, while Scott and Drew used Heather's too-cool-for-school i-phone to locate an orchard, Cole and Alicia amused themselves near the Subway stand. Heather took a bunch of photos of them as they played there. It was kinda like a game of tag, sorta like a game of risk, and your usual, giggly, toddler thing, that's just plain silly good.

Our drive to the orchard wound up being long and slow--I swear to all of you, traffic's usually not an issue here in Minnesota. However, if you find yourself moving at inch-worm speed in Minnesota, you know you are in the company of either sports fans or outdoor enthusiasts in the know, so just go with it because the crowd won't steer you wrong. When we finally arrived at the Pine Tree Apple Orchard, we found that, despite it being 3:30 on a Saturday, the place wasn't in any hurry to close--posting daily hours from 9am-7pm. I can't tell you how refreshing that was since so many we've found here close by four. We'll definitely go back to experience the hayrack rides, pony rides, samples, and more. But when you plant four shutterbug parents in a fall setting with two uber cute subjects, well, all of the other stuff has no chance really. So, the four of us happily clicked away as Cole and Alicia explored the trees, leaves, randomly placed ladders, apple crates, and a giant tree stump adorned with pumpkins that made a prefect photo-op, and of course, fields of pumpkins.

After hundreds of shots were taken, we made our way into the shop - there was a line for that too! We made it just as a soft rainshower began to fall. Once inside, we split up and then wound our way back to each other, time and again, oohing and aahing over the scrumptious baked goods and apple samples. Heather and I spotted a sign for apple donuts, only to discover they were out. Luckily, it was only a temporary outage, and a second sign promised fresh donuts by 5:30. So, we settled in line right behind the first two families. I think, all told, we stood in line for about 35 minutes; the families ahead of us waited for forty-five, but it was well worth it when, at 5:30, the bakery men rolled out the giant trays of warm, apple donuts, covered in cinnamon sugar. YUM!

Of course, up 'til now, I've spared you the details of all the impatient customers who found our line and completely converged upon it, without any respect for the pre-laid system. They just pressed and pressed up against us until we thought we were going to pass out. You would've thought we were at a rock concert or, at least, in line for tickets to one! Well, I take that back, those donuts really were rockstars in their own right. Must go back!

Heather picked up some yummy jam, and I got our family favorite (ever since visiting Tanner's Orchard back in '06), apple butter. Cole is beyond picky, and he loved the stuff back then, so I had high hopes for a repeat in his appetite (so far, not so lucky, but I've been enjoying it!).

We wrapped up the experience with a quick snack - I cannot tell you how badly we needed that apple cider - it felt like we'd just run a marathon or something. Seriously, when I snatched my donuts, a woman behind me had to implore her elder family members to 'let the poor girl out.' She said I was going to get trampled. Seriously! Someone ought to write a satire about it. :) The snacks totally hit the spot, but we all agreed, the cinnamon ice cream was a dead ringer for Red Hots. If you like Red Hots then you must try some - if not, considered yourself warned.

Not ready to say goodbye to our good friends, we asked the Kluesner's over to our place for dinner. The kids had a blast playing together, and Alicia drew a very colorful picture for us. We're so glad that we got to spend the day with you guys! Hope you come back sooner than two year's time; though, we'll totally understand if Mickey and the gang win out first!

August '08 Visit to Quad-Cities

2008-10-14T14:43:00.018-06:00

Ideally I would be posting about the Kluesner's visit this past weekend. However, I still haven't posted about many other things and so today I'm going to post a bit about our August trip to the Quad-Cities. We went for my 15th high school reunion and managed to see many family members in between events. We had not been back to the Quad-Cities since Christmas '06 so you can imagine how exciting it was for Cole to see everyone again.

Just as when we still lived in Illinois, Cole loved hanging out at his Great-Grandma Dodie's house.

The morning of the reunion we were able to meet up at Great-Grandma's house with Cole's second cousins (Gaige, Seamus, and Carter). It was a fantastic time for all four boys - they watered plants, played with cars, and of course tolerated the never-ending flash from the familial click squad.

After the reunion, we met up with Scott's mom and then headed over to my mom's house for a homemade meal. The most memorable moment occurred when Cole realized that he had three grandma's sitting across from him at the table. His great-grandma, his maternal grandma, and his paternal grandma. It was clear to see how cool he thought that was by the huge grin on his face as he pointed to each of them and then himself again and again. By the end of the night he had Grandma, Grandma, and GrandmaGrandma (so great you gotta say it twice) down pat!

On our last day in town we spent the morning with Grandma Jane at the John Deere Pavilion exploring all the tractors, gizmos, gadgets, and what have you. We also had fun goofing off in the gift shop. There are so many pics from the John Deere Pavilion we'll have to share them separately. Just follow this link for the slideshow. http://s453.photobucket.com/albums/qq257/ColesMama_photos/JohnDeereFun/?albumview=slideshow

Needless to say, Cole loved being able to explore so many tractors inside and out!

From there we met up at Great Uncle Ed and Aunt Eileen's new place. Great Aunt Eileen had saved a balloon from her birthday for Cole - she had an inkling that he might be a fan of balloons - and he is! Cole's loved balloons since his very first Halloween when a lady at Jewel gave him a pumpkin shaped one. Cole had a great time playing with his balloon (check out the monkey toes action!) while the adults all caught up. Scott and Great Uncle Ed found they have some common summertime memories from growing up in the region. Very cool. It was great to see Great Uncle Ed and Aunt Eileen again!

Two's Company

2008-10-08T13:47:00.006-06:00

Today was Cole's first day of school. Yay! He's in a class called Two's Company, and it's with other kids who are in the Early Intervention program. In an odd twist, he's in class with two other little boys and both boys are the sons of his first two speech therapists. Yep, that means he's got four of his teachers in class! I was a bit nervous about how he'd do and whether or not he'd find that confusing, since he's only had his two new teachers for two weeks now, but he did great. There was one little hitch with transportation, however. We'd gotten Cole up at the crack of dawn (well, it felt like it was the crack of dawn to us) in order to meet our bus at 8:23a.m. Cole was very excited as we waited outside in the frigid morning air he kept exclaiming, "I hear bus!" again and again. Sadly, most of those times, the motor he heard belonged to a city worker, and the one bus that did come up our street wasn't ours. Cole was very bummed out when he realized the bus was not coming, but luckily, Daddy hadn't left for work, which opened the door for us to take the car. Since then, we've been promised a free cab ride if the bus stands us up again, but hopefully, it won't come to that.

As for class itself - fantastic. Being the first day and all, most the kids kept to themselves and their own parent, but the room was full of boys, which will be great for Cole. All last year, every outing left him in the vast minority, but since this past summer, the roles have changed, and we're finding more and more boys for him to play with.

When we first arrived at his school, I see two things immediately: The first being a welcome sign that states the classroom is nut and peanut-free (Yay! Must remember to thank his teachers for that!), and the second thing to catch our attention are the lockers. Each child is assigned a locker, and on it, there's a photo of them so that they know which locker is theirs. When you open the locker, a smaller version of the same photo is inside, with velcro on the back for use in the classroom. When you enter the classroom, there you will see a little red schoolhouse with velcro spaces for the children to go up and place their photo on, engabling all the other kids to see which of their friends have arrived. Later on, the photo makes two more appearances. Once at snacktime, in the form of a photo placemat, so each child knows their place, and the final appearance is during circle time, when the photo is used on a slightly padded homemade mat - again, so they know where to sit.

At the beginning of class, the kids are encouraged to move from area to area, discovering all the special items their teachers have set out for them. The settings change month-to-month. The first play area that you see in the classroom is the kitchen, so of course, that's where Cole spent most of the free play-time. The area next to the kitchen is full of puzzles and a barn, complete with your usual barn animal fare. Further on into the room, there is an art table, where on the first day, the kids painted with apple halves - very cool. Just past that was the discovery table featuring water, buckets, and apples. This was very popular with the all the kids as well. The final area features an art easel (nearly identical to the one Scott made for Cole!), a reading nook, and of course, the snack table, which doubles as a second activity table, and on the first day, offered the kids fresh homemade playdough to fool around with.

It took me, and all of the teaching staff, but we did manage to get Cole out of the kitchen. Once he left it behind, he was very interested in the sensory table and the playdough. He didn't have much time at either and just caught sight of the art easel when they turned off the lights and told the kids to put their hands in a circle above their heads, stop, and listen - each time there's a transition, that's the routine. I, apparently, missed that bit in the parental orientation packet, so Cole and I were both sitting there looking at the others like they were space aliens. Oh well. Once the kids move on to circle time, a bongo drum is passed from child to child while the whole class sings "The Name Song." If your name is being sung, you get to pound on the drum to the beat while the rest of the class taps along on their laps. Cole really liked the song (we sung it all the way home), but he was still feeling a bit shy, so I got to pound on the drum for him--like they had to twist my arm, right? After circle time, the class makes its way over to the snack table, where their other teacher has laid out the photo placemats, a cup and a damp washcloth at each setting. Cole was positioned in the first chair, but tried very hard to sit at Ava's place, located next to him - it was cute. Before the children are allowed to eat, they have to first wipe their hands clean with the washcloth and then say, "I would like some juice please," I wish all of you could've seen Cole's face when he heard that AND when he heard other kids actually doing so.
(He's used to going into the fridge and grabbing his own beverage of choice and then asking one of us for help in getting a cup.) Cole never gave them the magic sentence, but he did wait patiently until they came to him, and then, he held his cup up politely. When the snack was passed around, each child was encouraged to ask for it by name (crackers), but Cole didn't really want the crackers, so he just kept drinking the juice. Finally, when one of his teachers offered him some, he obligingly took two, but still didn't eat them right away. He was too busy inhaling the juice with this frantic--downright competitive--look in his eyes. He was determined to get a second glass of juice before all the other kids drank it all. Ha! I seriously felt like I was watching some timed all-you-can-drink contest. He made it under the wire and got that second glass of juice though, so all's well. After snack time, the kids are given the choice of either doing puzzles or reading with their parent. Cole chose the books but had a hard time settling into one. He would just flip through each of the pages, jump up to put that one away, and sit back down with another. I barely read three words before he was off to the next one. Again, I felt the need for a stopwatch. A few minutes later, the lights turned off again, and we heard the transition song letting us know it was now time to go outside and play. Once Cole heard that, he really sparked to life--he began chatting away and ran to his locker. He just could not get outside fast enough. The playground was still wet from the previous day's rainstorm, and it took only seconds for his entire backside to be caked with damp sand. His frontside was all wet as well, but he had a very good time.

Here's the photo that greets Cole each Wed. now at school

You Should See This

2008-09-26T15:05:00.003-06:00

So, I was on the phone with my mom the other day and explaining that I was out of cinnamon. I then asked Cole to say one of his fav. phrases - cinnamon spice which he says all elongated like niiicccccee. Anyway, Cole is no ham and was not about to say it for mommy so grandma could hear it. When Scott got home later that night I recapped the scene for him and wouldn't you know the kid started saying cinnamon spice over and over and over again. We're nothing if not quick so after the seventh or eighth time I take off to retrieve the camera in hopes of catching him in action. Scott is more persistent than me and did manage to catch Cole saying it. It's not his usual way but you really should see it...so look over to your right and click on the Papa of Cole blog.

Okay, it's a game of Tag and I'm It

2008-09-20T18:36:00.002-06:00

My good friend Alice has tagged me! If you haven't read Alice's blog (Guilford Road) you're missing out! Okay, so here goes:

1) 4 Places I go over and over: park, Target, library, my email
2) 4 People who email me regularly: Alice, Scott, Ornela, and Candy

3) 4 of my favorite places to eat: Sunsets at Wayzata, Golden Lotus in Boulder, Harris Pizza and Happy Joe's both in the QCA

4) 4 places I would rather be: North Shore, Memphis, Silverton (CO.), Italian countryside

5) 4 people I tag: Heather, Jenny, the Manions, and Candy

6) 4 TV shows I watch: Fringe, House, How I Met Your Mother, Masterpiece/PBS

OK, your turn!

Turtle

2008-08-25T15:11:00.006-06:00

We'd like to introduce you all to one of Cole's new buddies, Turtle.

Turtle was a gift from Great-Grandpa Bob and Alyce that accompanied Grandpa Bob on his long road-trip from Sun City to Minneapolis.

Turtle fits right in with Big George and Little George and the three friends are the first things (along with blanket) and the last things (along with blanket and uh-oh) that Cole asks for each day and night.

We took some pictures in the hopes of capturing some of Turtle's hidden talents. If you look closely enough you can make out Cole's face. He loves Turtle and all that he can do.

Thanks, Great-Grandpa Bob!

Simple Mom's Simply Fantastic Giveaway!

2008-08-22T15:26:00.003-06:00

Okay, so for our small but loyal readership I have a little perk...here's a link to a fantastic giveaway at one of my favorite blogs. You only have until August 25th to enter so go here now! Good luck!

Sidewalk Chalk

2008-08-13T13:57:00.005-06:00

Okay, so this whole posting thing reminds me more and more of scrapbooking - I'm forever behind and can't decide whether to start from the beginning or skip ahead to the present. Today, I'm going back to earlier this summer (yes, again!) to show Cole getting to know his sidewalk chalk. Grandma Diane sent it to him and will be glad to know he's moved past organizing the case and really gotten into 'writing' with it. That's what he was doing this morning while we had roofers across the street, guys cutting down trees in our next door neighbor's yard as well as ours, and most importantly two very nice guys installing a new air conditioner unit for us. Aawwhhawwhhaawwwwhhhh (or whatever angels singing sounds like in your head)

Anyway, I didn't take pictures today so please enjoy the ones I took the first day Cole received his great case of sidewalk chalk.

Going to the Game

2008-07-29T14:17:00.008-06:00

Okay, so this is my last post for the day - I think I've done three (!!). However, tonight we will be going to our third Twins' game. It'll be our first this season and the tickets come courtesy of our most fantastic neighbors.
Update: It was a great game! The Twins won! Yay! We got lots of good shots and will be sharing those with you soon. And, there were two cute babies sitting in front of us that kept Cole entertained - the kid loves babies! Cole also got really into the game - cheering, clapping, all of it - he had a blast! Lastly, we saw at least 3 baseball bats break upon impact last night - kinda scary since I've heard of people getting injured from the flying remnants but luckily that was not the case last night.

Update 2: Pics
As you can see it was a real nail biter there for a while!

comeoncomeoncomeon...

COMEONCOMEONCOMEON!!!

SSHHIIISSHH!

Oh, I can't not watch though either!

But as we know - in the end it was the Twins who walked away with the big win...too bad it didn't last but they're just one big win behind so you never know...

Too Cute Not to Have a Look

2008-07-29T14:02:00.003-06:00

Sorry that we're kinda minimalist with our blog entries - we realize it's a bit ironic since we're both writers. Anyway, I hope the pictures will tell the tales themselves! Here are a few more favorite shots from late spring/early summer.

On A Sunny Sunday in May

2008-07-29T13:44:00.006-06:00

Here are some pictures of Cole hanging out one weekend in May in our backyard. Yep, this is me trying to catch up on old news! :)

I love catching shots of him when he's not quite looking at the camera...

but every now and again you just gotta see that face...

Lake Harriet Train Ride

2008-07-28T14:29:00.005-06:00

These are some pics from Father's Day when we went down to Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet to ride the train. It was Cole's first time (ours too now that I think about it) and he wanted to ride it again and again.

Cole paying the fare.

Anticipation builds.

And we're off! They were very excited - can you tell? :)

The train's an excellent place to get in touch with your contemplative side.

What'd I do? (Honestly neither of us remember now!)

Here's what the rest of the train's interior looks like!

Cole would've been content riding the train all day long but...

Time to go (for real this time!)

And a new Father's Day tradition was born...

What a Splash

2008-07-11T14:46:00.004-06:00

Here are some photos from earlier this week of Cole enjoying the water or as he calls it (the) 'all wet'. The first shot is of him and his newest best bud. Some of his other new friends are in bottom shots (I'll include closer shots once I have their permission). I'm still planning on posting older shots from visits, 4th of July, and whatnot but sensed it was a good time to update the blog with something, anything. :) Enjoy!

Aw, Nuts!

2008-05-19T16:39:00.002-06:00

Today Cole was tested for allergies of the nut variety. He tested positive for both tree nuts and peanuts (poor kid) but he was fantastic throughout the entire experience. He was really upset by the crying, wailing, and screaming we heard of other little kids through the paper thin walls of the examination room. He kept asking about the baby and wanted to sit in my lap whenever the crying/screaming got really loud. He's always hated to hear or see other kid's in pain and I know he would've liked to have been able to offer them comfort but still I was worried that all of what he'd heard prior to his own test would make it that much worse. Nope. He sat on my lap and only flinched a bit on the last two skin pricks. What's more, he only tried to scratch his itchy areas once. There was no crying, no fussing. Cole handled it so much better than I anticipated. To pass the time he liked cuddling and then he seemed to get used to the itching so he went back to the chalkboard (which is what he'd found irresistible when we were waiting for the testing to begin). It was Cole's first time with chalk, a chalkboard, and the eraser. It was pretty cool watching him figure it all out. He had not hesitation over the chalk and started doodling away, er, I mean, writing away (he was reciting letters as he 'wrote'). The eraser surprised him at first I guess he must've expected it to put more chalk on the board rather than take it all away. Once he figured out it's function he really enjoyed filling up the board with as many markings as possible and then he'd wipe it all away with the eraser with a 'bye bye' for each mark along the way. We brought George along for moral support and Cole really liked introducing George to the chalk, board, and eraser as well.

Other than that, Cole kept wanting to wash his hands so he could get soap out of the cool dispenser. After we'd done this a few times I told him we were all done so he gave George some more chalk, a squeeze of the soap, and of course that meant we had to then wash George's hands as well. He's nothing if not quick.

Anyway, Cole is doing fine. We've got tons of info. on how to deal with his allergies and a couple EpiPen's as well. Hope this finds all of you well, too!

86 and Counting

2008-05-08T12:52:00.002-06:00

Cole has a new speech therapist now (the other one went into labor en route to our house a few weeks ago) and they have really hit it off. Today, he added three more words to his vocabulary (fish, bear, and turn - as in take). We've been keeping a running list for a while now and the boy is up to nearly 90 words - 86 and counting. He has another evaluation in two weeks and it will be fun to see how much he has improved. We're grateful for the extra help from his therapists but truth be told - he started chatting up a storm right around his birthday, (when school was out), which means most of this great progress has come from Mister Man himself. Way to be, baby!

Timberwolves!

2008-04-17T13:47:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Scott won tickets to the last Timberwolves game. Yay! So the three of us ventured out for our first NBA game. I can't recall if I've been to one before - but it was definitely Scott's first and, of course, Cole's as well. Cole really enjoyed the first three quarters. He quickly settled in and clapped for every shot taken. It was super cute. When the music or lights would change his eyes would just grow big - he kept the rest of himself in his usual 'cool' mode. Even when they set off some loud fireworks type stuff he only reflected his startled response in his eyes. 'Cuz you know, he's a big kid and big kids don't flinch.

It happened to be Fan Appreciation night so we got lots of fun stuff. First, for being among the first 5,000 fans we got Al Jefferson piggie banks. Scott took one for his cubicle and Coley has adopted Al as a new friend. He even kissed 'Al's' head last night and told him goodnight before going upstairs to bed. He's still just as sweet as he was at six months old only now he's got the modeling and language skills to really send us to the moon. We also got to spin a prize wheel and both Mommy and Daddy landed on the 'choose any prize you want' but by the time we had our turn the really good stuff was gone. So, I took the beads (blue and then green ones with a pendant that reads, "Let's Build It!"), while Scott took the yearbook full of great pics and stats.

I made sure to get out all my photo happiness at the beginning of the game and I'll load those up later tonight (hopefully) so stay tuned for those. We would've love to have stayed for the rest of the game (the players were even going to throw autographed memorabilia into the stands afterwards), but Cole got a notion for motion and once Scott took him on one walk he wasn't real interested in sitting down again.

For those of you interested, we were playing Wisconsin, leading at first, fell behind and were still behind when we left. BUT, the Timberwolves pulled it out in overtime and won 110-101. Yay!

Happy Birthday, Scott

2008-04-08T16:35:00.004-06:00

It's Scott's birthday! Hooray! Happy birthday to you...Happy birthday dear Sccooottttyyyy Happy birthday tooooooo YYYYYYYOOOOOUUUUUUU! Love you!

P.S. Um, Coley's got your card...

A Sunny Day in March

2008-04-07T13:53:00.011-06:00

So, a little while ago, we decided to take advantage of 30+ temps at our local nature center. We've been hearing about it for months. You know, "Oh, yeah, they live near the nature center," and stuff like that.

Yeah, we know, 'bout time! Cole has been battling a fever since Leap Year but once we set him loose on the ground there was no stopping the smiles and shrieks of glee.

Coley is even more agile on all the playground equipment so this spring and summer should bring lots of adventure to his life and ours!

I know it doesn't need to be said...but we took a bazillion shots that day. We hope the ones we've selected for this post make you smile as they do us.

The Auto Show

2008-03-21T12:51:00.006-06:00

One Thursday back in March, :), we went out to the Twin Cities Auto Show with our friends, Sonja, Brandon, and Henna, who had extra tickets. As I tend to do always, I snapped away at completely random stuff to keep myself entertained. Luckily for you the novelty of most those shots have worn off now so I will only share some highlights. This is my favorite hood ornament shot, and the orange car had Coley transfixed for quite a while so I snagged that shot for him, the last one comes courtesy of Scott. Cole took the whole car-hopping thing rather seriously and didn't like us intruding on his space which meant Scott got sneaky and used his height to capture Cole through the moon roof. :)

Sonja, Henna, and I posed for a couple shots of me behind the wheel of a Porsche (though I had more fun in the red ZoomZoom later on).

Henna and Cole had great fun climbing in and out of cars too and provided lots of psuedo date pics for their moms. I especially like these from a grand convertible they couldn't get enough of. The first photo Scott and I ever took actually reminds me of this one - only instead of looking at the radio, Scott and I were trying to figure out the camera we decided to buy for our first-ever road trip together.

Oh, and after noticing that these gorgeous ladies were flirting with Cole I thought I'd preserve the memory of his first-ever auto show experience with a pic of three of Toyota's show ladies. I'll admit, I lost my nerve as we approached them (even though their oohing and ahhing over the boy as we passed by pretty much assured a green light on the idea) - so I made Scott ask. He was very embarrassed and said, "My wife wants to get a picture of all of you with our son. I swear it's not me, it's my wife that wants it." He stressed that last part a couple more times even though they agreed to the photo right away. Their older male counterpart (he had upper management written all over him so he seemed a bit out of place) came up to me as we were handing Cole over (he didn't mind at all of course!) and told me, "He'll treasure this when he gets older." Let's hope so because I have notions of framing it along with the show's program and the handwritten note from Jo-Jo (far left) which of course will be dragged out to show all future girlfriends. :)

Hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of our time at Cole's first-ever car show!

Briefly

2008-02-19T14:56:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone,

Many days I think of updating the post but knowing I don't have photos ready to load keeps me from doing so. But since it has been a month or so since our last update I figured you'd like to hear some news on our little man Cole.

Highlights:

A few weeks ago, while at a mall play area, he hopped into a red convertible and kissed this cute little blonde girl. I couldn't believe it. And right after, he gave an excited kinda cheer while she smiled shyly as they leaned over the back of the car. Turns out my friend and I were sitting next to the little girl's mother so we all got to enjoy the shock and tickle of this moment. (That's her, with the blonde hair, in the background a little later.

A week later, Coley was at it again. We met up with his pal, Moddie, who is the cousin of his cousins, Molly and Finn, at the park by our house. The two of them were practically buzzing as they ran around the warming house and played a few rounds of bean bag toss, and then when they stopped to check in on the rents, Coley leaned in for his second big boy kiss.

Moddie, to our relief, seemed tickled by it much like the first girl, and also looked up at us with a shy smile. Cole? Well, Cole had a look on his face that boasted, "Yep, that's right - I kissed her." Now he doesn't just kiss any girl - she has to be friendly, fun, and well, uber cute. (This is a photo that Coley took of Moddie after the smooch.)

Then, this past Friday, he did it again. There's an older girl in his play group that is full of spunk and Coley loves to get a rise out of her. They were having a rare quiet moment when her mother turned to them with a great look of suprise on her face that drew all of the other mother's (including me) to look over as well. Wouldn't you know it, Cole had his arms wrapped around her and was just removing his lips from her face. I think he only kissed this darling on the cheek but she seemed all the sweeter for it. Her arms, too, were wrapped around him and once again, another girl greeted the room with a shy smile.

Cole has also really been booming with his language skills. For some time now we've known that he has a lot to say and has shared our impatience for him to be able to get it all out. Well, each day brings us closer to that. Oup! In fact, I hear him calling me now!

New Year's Eve in the Park

2008-01-03T02:35:00.000-06:00

On New Year's Eve the park by our house had a party for the neighborhood; we invited some friends to join us, and we all went to the park to enjoy the festivities: sledding, ice skating, a bonfire, a horse-drawn wagon ride, a D.J., hot cider and hot chocolate, and a ball drop at midnight (6:30pm). It was a bit chilly, but fun. It has been nice to have such great events just outside our door and to have friends to enjoy them with.

Happy New Year to all!

Cole's Birthday

2008-01-03T01:40:00.000-06:00

A couple days later, we had to face facts and admit that our little baby Cole was, indeed, growing up on us. Yep, Coley turned two and in fine fashion. He sported the infamous terrible two badge proudly with moments of complete and utter adorableness mixed in. Thank the Lord for those little moments because man, our little one sure has my will and Scott's strength and at times that is a super scary combination.

Cole's Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dave made it through a blizzard in time to join us for the festivities. Cole was hesitant to open his own gifts, he preferred to pass them out to the rest of us instead. Finally, when I asked him to 'help' me open a gift, he rushed right over and so that is how we proceeded for the next day or so.

I don't know if the rest of you have had this experience, but we really had to open the gifts on Cole's schedule. He wasn't about to move onto another gift until he gave the one before it a good hour of his undivided attention. At least we know he loved everything!

Feeling ever-so guilty for not making his birthday party cake myself, I was doubly intent on making the one for his official special day, and I'm very happy to tell you that my first-ever attempt at a red velvet cake (a longtime-fav of mine) was a big success.

Yes, I'm tooting my own horn here, but when your mother tells you it was the best red velvet she's ever had (including the hundred or so she herself has baked) you start to feel pretty good. Then, when she asks you to give her your recipe, you know she's not just messing with you. That, and also, the fact that any of us will tell you, it was damn tasty!

Here's some pics of Coley enjoying his first-ever beater licking.

And here's some pics of him blowing out his candles. He didn't really get to do it all by himself at his party, so on the big day he had us light the candles and take pics again and again and again and again!

And here's some pics of Coley opening some gifts.

Our First Minnesota Christmas

2007-12-31T00:24:00.000-06:00

On Christmas Day, we woke to day two of present opening at the Becker household, and after a quick breakfast, Cole was ready to go. You'll note that we had the Christmas Yule Log burning on the television, for that warm feeling of a fireplace, sans the soot and the heat.

Cole enjoyed all the presents that were sent and brought, so thank you all for thinking of us up Nort' here in Minnesota. We wish we could have been home for the holidays. Thank you all for your gifts and love.

We miss you all tons. Love you all lots.

Macy's Holidazzle Parade

2007-12-31T00:03:00.000-06:00

Well, we finally made it to the Holidazzle Parade, which has been a Minnesota tradition longer than I've been breathing fire. Uh, well, anyway - since Thanksgiving, we've had it on our massive to-do list, and finally on the 22nd, we ventured out with some friends so that we could finally draw a really big, like huge, X through it on that, uh, really long list.

Funny thing about Minnesota though, you start to feel really invincible and hearty with the weather conditions, so you trudge out into the 14 degree night, with windchills in the negative teens, to find a premo spot for a winter parade that lasts basically thirty minutes. This is the same Minnesota-embrace-the-elements-because-otherwise-you're-inside-for-half-the-year mentality that had us wearing no jacket (Scott) and just a sweater and vest (me) when we went to run errands the week before when it was a balmy 23 degrees. I mean, let's face it, that's a heat-wave folks.

Yeah, so on this particularly chilly night, while the younger chickypoos were sporting fine clubwear, I opted for the sexy parka and Mexican blanket look.

Coley, who usually loves the cold weather, kept looking at his parents in such a way that I feared for our elderly diaper-wearing selves because, while of the hale and hardy Austrian stock, he grew increasingly upset at the frozen fingers he was sporting and the bright red cheeks and nose that rounded out his exposure to the subzero night. Hopefully, he'll have forgotten all about the experience way before then. I suppose it would help if I didn't put the memory down in writing...ah well, I'm sure this blog will be untraceable by then.

Right, so we went to the parade and Scott videotaped portions of it. The rest of the time Cole kept leading him into buildings that were featuring this really amazing thing, I think it's called HEAT.

While we did enjoy freezing our tushies off with our friends, I think next year we'll spring for the heated seats in the Macy's tent, just in case it is 10 below again.

Cole's 2nd Birthday Party

2007-12-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

On the Friday before Christmas, we had some of Cole's friends

over to help celebrate his second birthday. Yay!

We bought some Sculpey, which is shape-and-bake type clay, so the kids got to make Christmas cookie looking ornaments. It was loads of fun and proved very addictive - I'm just not sure who loved making them more, the kids or their parents.

I, of course, came down with another case of insomnia and hit my wall mid-way through the party, but Scott really came through to save the day.

He followed through on the plans I'd made but was too tired to safely implement myself. He made the cake (and the frosting too!) as well as handled the baking of the clay ornaments.

It was a fantastic time. Coley really enjoyed having all his friends over and hated seeing them go. He stood at the front window waving and saying, "Bye, bye!" to all of his friends until they all drove home.

Here are some photos of Cole and the gang.

Give the People What They Want...

2007-12-18T22:40:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I haven't been as good as I promised in regards to the blogging thing. I could give you a bunch of the typical excuses - we've all been sick since Thanksgiving (true); we're uber tired chasing around our uber active toddler (true); we've been swamped with work (true, true - hey, SAHM mom's work too you know!) but there is a time for excuses and a time for action. Tonight, I'm opting for action. Soo...here's some pics. I'm not going to waste anymore space with text, I'm just gonna give all of you what you came hear to see - some pictures already! Enjoy!

The first two shots are from the weekend before Thanksgiving. The third one is from Thanksgiving which we spent with friends. The second row are picks from just before and during the Normandale Community College's Annual Breakfast With Santa. Cole enjoyed his first candy cane so much we had to lose the sweater. The photo of Cole with Santa was Scott's handiwork - my earlier shots (pre-candy cane) didn't turn out nearly as well. I don't know who looked more disinterested, Santa or Cole. I think this photo shows the power of sugar for both young and old since it was taken at the end of the event. Row Three is from that same day, the one of our first blizzard and the outdoor shots that follow show some of the trips Cole made outside to help his dad shovel.

Row Four is from a couple week's ago when Cole and his friend Simon went to their first-ever movie in a movie theater. They saw The Bee Movie and had loads of fun. The last pic in that row illustrates one of Cole's favorite past-times, walking around in his sleeper and slippers (sorry didn't include those - will later) AND his dad's bike helmet. Row Five are pics that we took after returning home from Scott's work party at his boss, Monica's house. And the final set of shots is from a couple week's ago when Cole's first present for his second birthday arrived. It was a toy school bus from Great Grandpa Bob and Alyce - the very last shot is him saying, "Thanks!"

Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying this holiday season!

Fresh Start with the First Snow!

2007-12-01T14:42:00.000-06:00

It's the first of December and the mad dash to the grocery store happened last night all over town in preparation for our first blizzard. We started a couple drafts about October and November but December snuck right up on us. Sooo, I decided to right a brief update and resolve to be a better blogger from now on.

Today, Coley got his picture taken with Santa (for free!) at Normandale Community College. We went there for their annual Breakfast with Santa along with our other MOMS Club family friends. Cole was very happy to see his best bud, Simon, who was too sick to play earlier this week. They matched each other lick for lick on the suckers they were given and had fun following their papas around the different stations showing how Christmas is celebrated throughout the world. Cole's other new friends are Sebastian (Simon's younger brother), Alistair and Siena, Henna, and his newest friend is named, Maria. We've been having a lot of fun going to playdates and even the dad's got to go out for one a couple weeks ago. Scott and I are happy to have found ourselves a nice little community here in Minnesota.

Cole is loving the cold weather and even today with all the snow - all he wants is to be outside where he can stick out his tongue and 'taste' the weather. We hope all of you had a great Halloween and Thanksgiving. Cole trick-or-treated through the Mall of America and we spent Thanksgiving with our new friends, the Duffys (Simon & Sebastian's family).

Bye for now! We'll try to get some updated photos posted asap!

Twins v. Sox

2007-09-28T00:14:00.000-06:00

So, I won tickets at work to the Twins game against the Sucks,

I mean Sox, and I took a couple of short vids of the boy at the game. The one I've loaded is of Cole pretending to toss stuff on his Mom from the empty cup holder.
That's it for what I was posting about our outting. I'm sure Cole's Mom will have more to post later.

Okay, so picking up from where Scott left off.
Last weekend, we went to another Twins game.
This time, they were playing the all-too familiar
White Sox. I think you all might be interested
to know that our next door neighbor covers the

White Sox for the Chicago SunTimes. Wild, huh?
They have the home next to us, and also one in
the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.
Anyway, the game is already blurry in my mind.
I can tell you the Twins did better this time,

but I also have to tell you that the Sox still won.
But none of that matters because we had a blast.
The seats Scott won from work put us in the sixth row,
instead of the six-thousandth row,
and positioned us right behind third base. Awesome!
Knowing that, I'm sure you are all expecting
some great shots of the game, right? Well,

not so fast. Our camera's batteries kept dying

on us, and even though Scott talked the guards
into letting him leave the park and come back
in, the camera problems continued. However,
despite our technological difficulties, I think
we still have some great shots to remember
our day at the ballpark. So enjoy.
And on a side note - I changed the configurations
for our site so now anyone who wants to can leave
a comment. (hint, hint)

Lake Calhoun: or Melanie's Happy Place!

2007-09-17T13:31:00.000-06:00

After the game, we felt the need for fresh air and a good stretch. We made our way over to Lake Calhoun to show Aunt Jill one of the many gorgeous lakes in this state.

I have to say, when I am feeling incredibly stressed or blue, I want to make my way over to Lake Calhoun.

I like it's sister lake, Lake Harriet, as well, but there's something about Lake Calhoun.

It's name is fun to say, there's a beach, a great cafe with some tasty ice cream, and a nice winding path - one for bikers and one for walkers - hey, get off my path old lady! - and lots of boats, which means, of course, I'm a happy shutterbug.

Lake Harriett, not one to be outdone,

can be depended upon for a seemingly spontaneous street fair or a very entertaining free concert at the Bandshell.

Lake Harrieter's all seem to know each other whereas across the way at Lake Calhoun you can be more introspective and anonymous if you so choose.

Both lakes provide ample areas for picnicking and great impressive trees - perfect to read under. Even as I'm attempting to highlight some of their best features I know I'm not quite nailing it.

I guess you will all have to come discover these and the many other lakes yourselves. Truly, they are everywhere. Otherwise, you just can't comprehend how clean and clear the water is.

Just how fresh the air is or how remarkable the sky above looks with not a hint of pollution. Oh, and then there's the night sky and the fantastic view of the city (just across the lake really).

Ahh, okay, in the meantime here are some of my favorite shots (so far) from Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. Enjoy!

First-Ever Twins Game

2007-09-17T13:16:00.000-06:00

Well for us anyway. On the second day of our long Labor Day weekend we made our way downtown (for all of you Chicagoans - it takes like fifteen minutes for us to be downtown - nice, huh?) for the Twins game.

They were playing against Kansas City that day and Aunt Jill is a huge baseball fan. It doesn't matter whether her favorite (Cubbies, duh) are playing or well if it's the Twins vs. Kansas City.

Even with Coley screaming in terror from our nose-bleed seats, her

concentration was not to be broken.

Too bad I can't say the same for the ever-many annoyed Twins' fans sitting all around us - even across the aisle to the left and to the right.

I have to admit, I was experiencing a bit of vertigo myself. After rejecting food and drink and darn near everything else we offered him (we even broke our own rule and offered him soda - I hang my head in shame even as I write this), Cole finally found his groove.

Just as the eighth inning was coming to an end. Here's some pics from that peaceful time during which Scott pulled out all his tricks to keep our boy entertained!

At the end of the game (for those who'd like to know the Twins lost - after having scored only once though Kansas City didn't do much better - 6-1), some people from the other end of our row and down a bit, paused as they noticed Coley still sitting there. The woman looked amazed as she wondered aloud, "He made it through the whole game?" I sighed and said, "Yep." She continued, "Did he ever nap?" I sighed again and said, "Nope." Her eyes grew huge and then settled into an expression of great sympathy. Scott said, "Wait, you could hear him from all the way over there?" She and I laughed and then I said, "Honey, everyone from two aisles over could hear him." And the lady along with the elderly man she was with laughed heartily as the unspoken thought of so many passed, "I heard that." But kidding aside, we were proud of our son for completing what we thought would be an impossible mission: he survived all nine innings of his first-ever MLB baseball game from a death-defying height no less. Way to go little man!

Guess what, Daddy won tickets to another game this Saturday. Don't worry Cole, we'll be much closer to the ground this time!

Minnesota State Fair

2007-09-17T12:43:00.000-06:00

Whew! The time has just flown by. I barely know where to start in order to catch everyone up on what we've been doing with ourselves lately. Okay, I'll start with Labor Day Weekend. It was jam-packed in honor of Cole's Aunt Jill's visit. There always seems to be a lot going on in Minnesota so it's never difficult to entertain visitors (hint, hint). Going into the weekend, we left plenty of time for whim with only the state fair and a Twins game on the 'Must Do' list.

The Minnesota State Fair. Wow, I've never seen a fair get so much television coverage. Coley and I watched entire news broadcasts from and about the state fair for days. From our cozy view on the couch it looked exciting, huge, and at times mystifying. We couldn't wait to go but we were patient and waited until the last weekend so that Aunt Jill would be able to experience it with us as well.

First off, Cole was blown away by his first-ever bus ride. He didn't know which way to look. I mean there's the whole being up high and able to look down into the cars of strangers, and then there's the great diversity amongst your fellow bus riders, and there are all those loud, mysterious noises as the bus bounces along. It soon became apparent that Cole was partial to the enormous bus windows that provided him a cushy view of roads, overpasses, and the interior of all those cars. His Dad did catch him long enough to take snag this photo marking Cole's first-ever bus ride.

Once we were on firm ground again Cole was not about to sit in his stroller. He wanted to walk amongst the people and feel the gravel crunching beneath his feet. But that would have to wait until later. As we passed through the main gates, we were blown away by the sheer volume of everything. There were people for miles and miles no matter where you looked. There were the familiar, and not-so-familiar, scents swirling about to tease our senses with memories of past visits to fairs and new memories to come.

Then, of course, there were all those booths to peak our curiosity. Booths with brightly colors hats and noisy toys for kids. Booths and barns with information and freebies for the grown-ups. Barns full of animals - a chicken barn, a cow barn, a horse barn, just to name a few.

Absolutely amazing. Looking at it from Cole's point of view, made it seem all that more impressive.

He was tickled by the chickens and he was captivated by the horses.

That's his hand petting the horse's nose.

Scott pulled him back just before Cole stuck his hand up the horse's nostril. Good call.

I think the cows puzzled him more than anything - they were just sitting there quietly watching him as if he was the exhibit rather than the other way around.
Oh, but then there was the carnival area of the fair. At this point Cole's preferred mode of transportation was atop his dad's shoulders and his usual expression was open-mouthed awe as his mind was blown left and right.

Here are some more shots of things that caught our eye. Check out the french fry stand that's been serving fries to perfection for 35 years now from that very location.

Or, how about that slide ride? They say it's worth the hour-long wait. Guess we'll find out next year.
Now, if you were to look up you would see, from all corners of the fair, these colorful cable cars zipping along in order to give their patrons a real bird's eye view.

But you know what really makes a fair great? The people. The people you're with that's where it's at.

Scott's cousin Liz met up with us and gave us the grand tour highlighting her favorite bits like the Gizmo sandwich and the apple-cicle (I don't recall what it was really called) which was soo refreshing.

A real group favorite was most definitely the bucket of chocolate chip cookies being sold everywhere by Aunt Martha. Someone should give that woman her own day for all the goodness she packs into those sweet morsels. Everywhere we went you could see people toting their overflowing buckets of her cookies. Yum!

While we were partaking in our apple-based treats,

Cole surprised us all by falling asleep.

I thought for sure he would wake up as soon as we left the air-conditioned pavilion but no, that nap reached heroic heights despite noise, smells, flashing lights, and color. An amazing thing to behold.

But like everything else, it too came to an end, and Cole woke up wanting more. More sights, more smells, more people to stare at, and for sure more cookies.

So after a quick goodbye to Cousin Liz and a much dwindled crowd, Cole eagerly accepted Aunt Jill's hand and felt the crunch of fair gravel beneath his feet for the first time.
All that walking really must've taken a lot out of Cole. As the sunset, he began to act a little zany. He started humming, "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night," and asked us to take his picture. Now, believe me he is quite the ham but this seemed over the top even for him.

All in all it was a great time at the fair. Another big first for our Minnesota-honed family. See you all there next year!

Boy Takes Park by Storm

2007-08-23T23:50:00.000-06:00

As we have mentioned before, we really like the
park near our house, and we take every opportunity to bring our little man to the park and let him loose.

Well, before the recent bout of rain settled over the upper mid-west, we finally made the effort to take the boy to the water park part of our park.

Now, it always seemed to me that every time we passed it on our way to the play area, we would see lots of kids and lots of parents, but most notable was the fact that the dads were in the water and the moms were in groups gabbing. As you can see, Coley wasn't the only big boy in the splash park.

Also worth mentioning, that water is pretty cold and most of the downward facing jets come out pretty hard, painfully hard in my opinion.

Anyway, every time that I set him down, he made a B-line to his Mom. So, after a few minutes of water-made excitement, we headed over to the play area.

Our little man was much more at home there. He didn't hesitate to visit all his favorite things. The low bridge...

the high bridge...

the rock climbing wall...

the slide...

and then he spotted his favorite thing, the swing...

No, fooling, this kid really likes that swing. As you can see, he is in the big-kid swing and holds on tight and used tongue-focus to manage his momentum. When he was younger, he would ride the swing foreverrrr, but now that he has to hold on, he only rides as long as his arms can hold him, which, I am proud to say, is fairly long, a couple of other kids riding long, but not quite as long as he expected when he realized that throwing your head back to watch the trees above was fun, and just a wee bit more G-force than being fully upright, which quickly becomes quickly prone. That didn't happen on this visit. On this visit, he never let go.

Of all the pictures so far at the park, one of my favorite has to be this last one. I think, once again, Melanie captured the essence of our Coley. This was taken through the view hole in a big blue tunnel connecting the lower and upper parts of the play ground equipment. Cole thinks it is a gas to see us through the windows. I hope you like it as much as I do.

The Boys Take a Bike Ride or Cole Takes a 3-hour Nap Punctuated by Art Appreciation

2007-08-22T01:48:00.000-06:00

So, to give the Momma a rest on a warm Sunday
afternoon, me and the boy decided to head out on a little bike trip. We have been wanting to do this ever since our first excursion on Father's Day, but so much has gone on that we never got the chance.

Cole put on his helmet (getting better at keeping it on), and sat back to enjoy our little jaunt to the near-by lake trail (there's always a nearby lake, they are everywhere).

Anyway, we headed out, picked up the trail, checked one map, and Cole was out cold.

So, instead of riding to the lakes to play at the beach, we rode past them, and continued on down to the city. It was a nice day and a nice, quiet ride.

Cole was asleep for this little retreat in the heart of the city.

But he woke up once we reached the sculpture garden down by the Walker Art Museum. After some fruit snacks on the garden wall and a bit of time to orientate himself, he was off to explore.

This thing . . .
And, this thing. . .

Cheap Labor

2007-08-22T01:21:00.000-06:00

So, we haven't had to mow the lawn in a long time because the places that we live, other folks have been taking care of that sort of weekly chore.

But, when we moved into the new house, we had

to start mowing the lawn. We have this great old push mower with a rotary blade that makes a raspy sort of metalic noise like a bunch of scissors repeatedly cutting over and over.

The grass spills out the back and doesn't fling rocks and sticks at you like the power mowers do. I really enjoyed those things growing up.

Well, as luck would have it, we found someone to take care of the lawn mowing for us. Cole.

He was facinated by the mechanism from the outset, and it was only a couple of mowings later that he felt secure enough to stop walking along side me and start doing the pushing himself.

At first, he let his old man help him push, but later, I could only use a finger to help push. We stopped after half the lawn. He considered it done. Even with the missed patchs.

After a quick inspection of his handwork, it

was back to Mom (who was watching from

the stoop) and a well-deserved bottle of lemonade.

We're thinking of having more, just to build a small contingent of low-cost works to do our yard chores.

Grandmas Look the Other Way

2007-08-14T23:56:00.000-06:00

I'm serious. Grandmothers need not read nor view the following entry. I've warned you, so if you look at the pictures, don't, I mean, don't tell me how dangerous it is. Seriously, I know, but...

boy, is there some stuff that your kid

does that you are so amazed by it as a

father that you don't actually notice that

it could kill him. My kid climbed a ladder.

In the pictures it might look like I helped, but, no. The kid climbed up behind me when I was trimming the tree in the front yard, and then he sort of shoved me aside as he realized the potential height that he could reach. He really likes the view from six feet up.

Anyway, it was a one time deal for him, much to his chagrin, but the parent in me kicked in eventually.

The New Pad

2007-08-14T22:11:00.000-06:00

Okay, so most of you know that we recently moved from our first place to our, more permanent, second place. We now live in a bungalow instead of a townhouse. It has been so long since we lived in a house-house that we sort of forgot what it was like. It is so nice not hearing your neighbors through the walls. After what amounts to a 12 year hiatus, it is good to be back in an actual house-house.

This picture is of the front of the house, which doesn't show the second story addition. The people who built the home had five kids and did it all with just the two original bedrooms. They're a good size, but not that good.

Anywho, the house is across the street from a great park. It has a community house, a water park, a couple of play areas, a couple of walking paths, a couple of playing fields, a couple of BBQ shelters-plenty to keep a family busy without leaving the neighborhood. They also have concerts in the summer and sledding in the winter, so there's lots to look forward to beyond all the fun places to go and see up here.

Cole has been enjoying the park since we moved in. We like it a great deal, too. One visit to the park equals an extra-long weekend nap. Mom and Dad can get lots done while the little man is down for 3-4 hours. It's better than a pill.

We've tried to meet new people but we never seem to see the same parent/child combo in the park more than once. Lots of parents drive in, so we don't even know if they are from around our neighborhood.

So a small contingent of the clan came north to help with the move. Once again, we are indebted to them for their time and effort, so thanks boys and Pop; you were a great help.

Cole spent most of the move hanging out with Grandpa and Uncle Dan. He, of course, had to inspect the truck before it was loaded, just to make sure it was ready for the move.

The rest of the time, he helped supervise the move with Grandpa.

In the end, the move was a success. The majority of it was done over the two days everyone was up, and the rest was brought over in a number of trips over the first couple days in July. We were completely moved by the fourth and we have been continuously unpacking since.

Reflections

2007-06-25T00:13:00.000-06:00

Now, every day, a couple of times a day, I get reports from home about what the boy is up to. Melanie and I got to share a majority of Cole's first year with my being home for so much of it, about 7 months, so she makes sure that I don't miss out on those subtle changes that children have each day, those moments that, in sum, make the child.

So, it is one of those moments that I've been told about often, Cole's use of the windowsill for a wide range of purposes, and this particular day, it was his assembled collection of toys that he was studying. Not playing with, studying.

Melanie has described this aspect of Cole's personality, and his use of the windowsill as his workbench, to me many times. Through them, I get so see what she sees, experience what she experiences, so that I picture his actions in my head, her detailed accounts more accurate than a photo.

And, on occasion, she will snap a few photos of what he's doing, and I think that she often captures essences more than she catches moments.

Now, I'm sure most of you know that we marvel at his aptitude for engineering and his use of things for anything but their intended purpose.

And this, I'm sure, can be attributed to normal development or his being a boy, or whatever, but you still can't help but be amazed that someone who has only been alive for 18 months can do things like dismantle a kitchen timer. Not beat it apart, but literally, take it apart. First the dial, then the shell, then parts of the mechanism inside until he's figured it out. It often elicits a conversation like this when I get home:
"What's this?" I say, as I notice the pieces on the kitchen counter.
Melanie looks up briefly and says, "That's the timer."
I pick up the pieces.
"What happened?"
"Cole."
"Oh." I puzzle over the parts, wondering how they got together, then add,"Should I pick up another one?"

Understanding that most learning stems from observation and replication, we know that what our little monkey sees, our little monkey does, but there's the things children do that have no relationship to modeling, that manifest in them, seemingly randomly, that absolutely floor me almost every day with Cole. I can't help but wonder where it comes from, what remnant of memory, collective or individual, bubbled to the surface and slipped out like a long-lived habit in someone who just learned to walk.

And when I find myself reflecting on the mind-blowing concept that this person is part of me, parts of the people I love, and part of something I don't even have the capacity to fully understand, he'll turn to me, in that way that he does, and look at me like he knows and figured it out long before I did.

2007-06-21T00:41:00.000-06:00

Father's Day Fun

A Collection

of Images and Thoughts on

My First Father's Day Up Nort'

So, this past weekend was Father's Day, and like all other guys out there lucky enough to be Dads, Pops, and the like, I enjoyed the adulation of my family and the exaltations regarding my fatherdom.

Seeing as how our little enclave of the Becker Clan is sort of isolated in this lakey state, Melanie made it a point that the day was a special one and helped Cole express some of his own pleasure about me being his Pop.

I was given the morning to sleep in and slumber in the relative quiet of our bedroom while the last touches were made to my hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind, completely-Coley-made gifts.

My first home-made card did not disappoint. It was crafted by both Melanie (she did have to help the kid a bit) and Cole, who drew the interior art. (A first time effort with mixed media or media of anykind that wasn't food.)

Melanie and Cole seemed to have had a great time working on the card. But the real work of art was the gift that I got from Cole. It was his first ever finger painting.

It was a whole day of first creations for the little man.

Melanie had picked up a couple of white tiles after inspiration struck her for my gift.

She dressed Cole up in an old t-shirt and poured six of his ten new fingerpaint colors into small dixie cups.

As soon as she gave Cole
the tile and paint, he was off and running.

You can see that our natural artist is quite serious about his work.

At one point, Melanie tried to adjust the tile on the table so that Cole could paint the less used portion at the top.

He looked at her like she was nuts and turned the tile back to the proper position for viewing.

Cole seemed determined to produce a specific vision that he had for his first modern impressionist work.

As soon as Cole was finished with his painting, he moved it aside and took off the t-shirt. He was more than happy to talk about his piece once it was finished and spoke at great length with his Mom about the subtle shading techniques he used and the types of finger strokes that produce the best blends.

After reviewing it these past few days, we have come to the conclusion that it might be his impression of the view from our back window. The grass and groundcover in the forest behind the house give way to open sky and flecks of blue. He tends to spend a good deal of his play time at the windowsill playing with his toys and observing the trees. Perhaps, he will let us know later on.

After some general fooling around, we opened our Father-Son gift.

We have been wanting to go for bike rides since he could sit upright. Until now we have only been able to go on hikes and stroller rides, and not much else.

But now, we have the means to take rides together. We got a bike trailer. Coley already knew where his helmet goes. Safety first.

He helped me unfold it and put the wheels on it in the living room. Cole's Mom was good enough to point out the difficulty of removing the fully assembled trailer from the house (after it was assembled). But we managed to get it out the door and hook it to a bike and go for a ride.

And let me tell you, that boy is getting heavy. He seems all light and stuff on the flats, but once we hit the hills, you start thinking about feeding him just a bit less. My theory is that as we ride, I will lose weight and he'll gain it, so we'll have a constant training weight.

Seriously, we had a great time riding together. Cole rode in silence. I didn't talk. (wheezed a bit, though) And, we found a neat little park just a couple blocks from our townhouse that we can use until we move.

The capstone for the whole day were the nice strip steaks that Melanie and I got to eat alone at the end of the day. Cooked just right, both with mushrooms, mine with crumbled blue cheese, and both with a baked potato. It was practically criminal they were so good.

Happy Father's Day to all.

Up From Indiana

2007-06-13T00:47:00.000-06:00

What is better than hanging out with your parents all the time?

Hanging out with your cousins!

Just last week my cousins, Molly and Finn, came up with my Aunt Amy for a visit. I hadn't seen them is so long. The last time I saw them I wasn't even walking!

They arrived on Saturday, and we all headed over to the Como Zoo to see the sights, but the rain wouldn't let up, so instead, we went to the Mall of America. We didn't do any shopping; we just had fun in the amusement park inside.

We all rode on the merry-go-round together with my Mommy and Daddy.

Aunt Amy took pictures from the sidelines because she gets sick when she spins in circles.

Molly, Finn, and I have no problems spinning, though.

Finn can even do it while looking backwards. Too cool!

Molly had fun, too. She sat next to me and made sure that I held on.

There was a lot to see and do there. Finn got some new Thomas toys at the store near the merry-go-round.

We all got to use the potty there, and I got to help Daddy flatten pennies for his collection. We made lots of cool ones, with Minnesota animals on them and neat stuff like that.

Even though Aunt Amy gets icky when going in circles, she still went on the air ballon ride, which went in lots of circles. She seemed to like it though.

Molly and Finn rode together on the train in the center of the park.

They sat and talked to a little boy the whole time.

We all had dinner at a neat place called Johnny Rockets. We sat at a table overlooking the park and had hamburgers and milkshakes.

I had so much fun hanging out with them.

That night they slept over at our house. Molly and Finn got to camp out on the floor in Daddy's office, and I had to sleep in my own room because I'm still just a little guy, but soon, we'll get to all sleep on the floor in our sleeping bags just like my Daddy and Aunt Amy did with their cousins when they were little kids. I can't wait.

Even though we slept in different rooms, it didn't keep us from staying up late. It was lots of fun getting ready for bed. We brushed our teeth together, got our PJs on at the same time, we even got to do tub-time together.

(Daddy added the extra bubbles for modesty.)

We had lots of fun. We must have because there was more water on the floor than in the tub when we were done.

The next day, after my cousins got back from visiting Cousin Liz at her new house, where they had lunch and got to play in the garden with her, we all went to the Como Zoo.

This time the rain cleared up by the time we got there. I've been to the Zoo before but it was extra fun because I got to go on more rides because we all rode together.

Our first ride was on the sports car ride. We all drove. As you can see, Finn really liked it.

Eventually, Molly and I just sat back and enjoyed the view of the open road while Finn drove.

Then we headed over to another ride. This one was a magic carpet ride with genies and stuff.

This time I rode up front with Finn so we could talk about guy stuff. You know, boogers and things.

Besides, Molly seemed to be in her own conversation with the genie.

And then, Finn and I found this cool button. He dared me to push it. I, of course, did, and the whole ride shut down...

Just kidding, nothing happened. We just went in circles again.

We actually did go see the animals before the park closed. We saw those tall thingys again and the polar bears and the zebras and the lions and the ostrich and the leopards and the monkeys...no wait, that was Finn climbing around. He's cool.

We saw a bunch more animals and then we went home.

The whole visit was great fun, and I missed my Aunt Amy and Molly and Finn after they left. I kept looking for them all day, but they were on the long ride back to Indiana.

Hopefully, they'll get to come visit again, and we can do even more fun stuff up here.

Melanie's Birthday/Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-29T12:57:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dave came up to visit and to celebrate my 32nd birthday or Cole's 17 months depending on how you look at it. On that first day Cole, the grandparents, and I all trekked out to the Mall of America (MOA). As you can imagine we didn't stop much for photos but I did manage to snap a few of Cole with Grandma D. and Grandpa D. at Johnny Rockets while we ate a late lunch.

When we got home the big surprise was our power being out. Apparently while we were safely nestled in the MOA the outside world was enduring quite the rain/hailstorm. Plymouth was the hardest hit with 10,000 homes losing power. Just when Scott and I were starting to panic over lost groceries and having no candles or matches the power came back on. They had told us it would be out for 24 hours but it was actually only out for a few.

Thursday, the 24th, while it was still raining out Scott made me another breakfast in bed to kick off my birthday and the three of us enjoyed a lazy, cozy morning. Meanwhile Grandma D. and Grandpa D. hit the nearby outlet mall. They seemed to have much better luck there than at the massive MOA. We all met up back at our place in the afternoon and visited until it was time to head out to Wayzata for my birthday dinner. We went to a restaurant that I had hoped to take Scott to for his birthday brunch (Easter) but at the time weren't able to get into. Sunsets definitely did not disappoint. It's right there on Lake Minnetonka and there were dozens of sailboats enhancing the amazing view. The food was also incredible and we all left feeling full and satisfied.

Finally on Friday the sun came out and stayed out which gave us the chance to finally get outside! We went to the free zoo called Como Zoo this time and had a blast. The Como Zoo has more than just animals, it also has a conservatory,

and a sizable amusement park with plenty of rides for all ages and stomach ranges.

I myself love the spinny rides so Cole joined me for a twirl in the teacups and then Scott came on board for our spin in the similarly based pumpkin ride. Scott doesn't enjoy being spun and Cole was indifferent to the experience (although at home his favorite thing is to spin or be spun) so from there the boys climbed aboard the little kid train. Cole seemed to enjoy being able to see the other kids riding along as well and of course he always loves being with his papa.

Scott made a special trip down memory lane and started a tradition for Cole as well when he spotted the Mold-a-rama zoo animals being carried around by several little kids.

He managed to mold a blue polar bear and a gorilla for Cole. An excellent accompaniment to the flattened penny collection.

Here are some more pictures from our fun day at the zoo.

Cole loved seeing his Grandma D. and Grandpa D. again and he totally fell in love with their dog, Holly.

Mother's Day In Review

2007-05-14T12:31:00.000-06:00

On Sunday we celebrated our first Mother's Day in Minnesota. Scott and Cole must've been planning our day for weeks because it was perfect. Even the weather seemed to be ordered in. Well, actually in the morning it was overcast but we're slow movers so by the time we were ready to greet the day it was outstanding! My boys woke me with breakfast in bed (on a tray even!) of french toast and hot white tea. Perfect! Then they presented me with my Mother's Day cards and the garden stone I've been longing for since Cole was born. Scott had Cole pick out the style and Cole took to the flip-flop style which means I really got two garden stones! They personalized it with beach glass (another of my favs) and of course Cole's foot imprint. That was enough for me right there but there was more!

After Cole snuck in a good nap (which gave me time to read - huge bonus) we headed out to the U's Arboretum. It's another one of the great places the library offers free passes to and I've been dying to go.

It seemed as though all the moms asked for the same thing because it was packed. It didn't feel crowded as you walked around though because the place is huge.

Based on what we've seen of Minnesota so far I think the state could give Texas a run for its money in the 'everything's bigger' category.

Cole loved taking in all the scenery and smells as much as Scott and I did. He even chattered away about some of the trees as he pointed them out to us. We understand a lot of what he's saying but he still only has a few good, clear words that are universally understood.

We know he'll be cracking us up all the time (he's already a great joke teller) but we also know we'll miss this stage once it's gone so we're trying to soak it up now until it's good and dry.

We spent a couple hours walking around and only lightheartedly tried to follow the guide map.

Scott wanted to walk over to the sensory garden but somehow we kept walking in the opposite direction.

Sometimes it was due to a great shot that we just had to take, sometimes it was because Cole wanted to go to the left instead, and sometimes it was just to get a break from the very warm sun.

We didn't realize until we got back and heard the weather report but it'd actually been 92 degrees out there!

With all those trees though you would've thought it was more like 80 - the breeze and the occasional waterfall is what saved us I think.

When we got home we played around for a while and then once Cole went to sleep Scott and I watched a movie. From beginning til end it was a perfect day. I hope all of you had a perfect Mother's Day (or graduation) as well! Congrats to Kate!

Cole's Remedy for a Rainy Day

2007-05-08T12:51:00.000-06:00

Always curious, always inventive, always adventurous. That's Cole to a 't'. Here's what he did yesterday morning to entertain us on a rainy morning.

Parking It

2007-05-03T10:51:00.000-06:00

As the weather continues to improve we find ourselves trekking more and more often to the local park. Cole loves to run around and squeal and scream like the wild man that he is. He especially loves running up to all the different kids yelling, "HI!" Until last weekend this enthusiastic greeting was met with frozen silence but alas last Sunday a little girl (about five years old) not only said hello back but also put her hand on his shoulder. As you can imagine Cole was over the moon and stars for that one but almost immediately after she said hello it was time for her to say goodbye. Cole ran after her yelling, "Hi," until the last car door was shut.

Here are some snapshots from recent visits!

Mr. Bubble Time

2007-04-12T12:55:00.000-06:00

Where's Coley???

Coley is that you?

Or have we found Elvis?

It sounds like the King. . .

Check out those sideburns, ladies! It sure looks like the King. . .

Ooohhh, there's Coley under all those bubbles!

Coley and His Mac 'n Cheese

2007-04-12T12:39:00.000-06:00

Yup, this is primo Mac 'n Cheese, man! Yum-O!

The key is to get it ALL in!

My next trick is really special - I'll give you a hint. . .
NO HANDS!

Tah-dah! See, no hands! Now that's how you eat Mac 'n Cheese

Easter and Scott's Birthday!

2007-04-10T12:41:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday was not one but two causes for celebration around here. The last time Easter fell on Scott's birthday was the first year we were dating and that was AGES ago. Ha! This time around we celebrated with one of Scott's favorites - BRUNCH! Then we followed that up with a trip to the park and a long, lazy Sunday drive. That last part makes us sound old but really it's just what we do when Cole falls asleep in his car seat. Here are some pics from the happy, happy day!

Happy Easter!! Happy Birthday, Dada!!

Coley loves to share his orange juice with Dada

What's the deal with the furry one?

Coley lining up his first shot. . .

Why you lookin' at me like that, Dada?
OH! You thought I was going to use this thing?
Ha, you're so funny! Like I know how to use this.

Happy Easter Happy Boys Happy B-day Happy Day

I think I smell cake - this way!

Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday
Dear Scotttttyyyyy Happy Birthday To You!

The Children's Museum

2007-03-22T10:39:00.000-06:00

The third Sunday of each month is a free day for The Children's Museum here in St. Paul and this past Sunday we took Cole for his first time. For those of you who haven't been to the one in Minnesota let me just say it is HUGE.

There are four vast floors with so many things to look at from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. Scott went from room to room saying, "No, okay, so THIS is how I want to do Cole's room." There were hundreds of other families there and we knew it was going to get a bit wild but once Cole put on his war paint he was ready for anything.

Cole's Grandma Jane was in town for the weekend so she got the chance to witness his wild abandon first-hand.

Cole wasn't shy at all about playing with the big boys or handing items over to the cute girls.

At one point he placed his hand on the shoulder of this cute brunette girl who had to be about eight-years-old. He kept finding her room after room but I don't think she realized he was trying to hit on her. To her he probably seemed more like a pestering little brother.

Hey, I saw her first get outta here! Pretty girl, over here, remember me?

Cole tried to move on - this time with a blonde - and she was not shy at all about removing his hand from her shoulder again and again (our boy is nothing if not persistent).

Eventually he gave up on finding love and concentrated on making friends with this little boy named Ben.

When he wasn't stalking cute little girls or bouncing around with Ben he found other things to entertain and amaze himself with like snack time with Dad.

He also mastered the art of dropping balls into a hole before watching them go through a little maze and then back out another hole at the bottom.

He took time to spin a sunflower.

And of course he loved being in the Bob the Builder workshop.

To summarize, Cole just ran around the whole day squealing with excitement over all there was to see, hear, feel, and do.

And then on Monday he came down with a nasty virus! He's a trooper though and feeling better every minute.

One Last Snow Pic Before Spring!

2007-03-14T11:58:00.000-06:00

Spring is fighting it's way through the chilly winter air but before it does I wanted to share this pic of Cole digging out. Scott was feeling a bit overwhelmed by his shoveling duties when we got snowed in so he enlisted the aid of Cole. You know what they say, 'Start 'em young. . .'

Our Day At The Zoo

2007-03-09T12:47:00.000-06:00

The public libraries in Minnesota have this great program that enables you to get four free passes to one of many area museums and zoos.

Last Sunday we were able to take advantage of the free passes and took Cole for his first zoo outing.

The Minnesota Zoo is incredible - in the two hours we spent there we only made it through one area of the zoo so we'll definitely be going back soon.

Here are a few pics from our great day!

Oh, oh it's Magic

2007-02-27T20:41:00.000-06:00

I don't quite remember eating my first Oreo but I do remember the picture taken of me. I had it all over my face - and for months now I have been anticipating Cole's first bite of an Oreo cookie. The other day when we were both particularly in dire need of some choco-therapy I called on Dr. Nabisco and he prescribed America's favorite cookie, the OREO. Yummy!

Just like his parents Cole experienced love at first bite. But then...

What do you mean there aren't any more cookies?

Aw, come on!

The City of Becker

2007-02-18T10:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday while out running errands

Cole fell asleep in his car seat.

So, what are you to do when your baby's asleep and you're at the wheel?

Take an excursion (I've been prohibited from referring to this as a road trip by the S.O.).

Grab a map or don't. Make a plan or improvise. Get a move on with some tunes on.

Yeah.

So, we decided to journey on up to the town of Becker, MN. You know we had to!

We spent a lot of time darting in and out of fun little shops with even more interesting owners -

none of whom had magnets to commemorate our 'excursion' to Becker.

Those of you who've seen our fridge know that we don't consider a trip truly done until we pick up a magnet or two. We have one from almost everywhere we've been since one became two and now that two have become three we intend to continue this tradition.
But alas, the city with our namesake was not prepared for this request - they actually thought it was bizarre until we explained the name connection - then they just thought it was funny. All in all it was a fun day and we took pics of some of Becker's landmarks.
We skipped the Becker Baptist Church, the Becker Cemetery, the Becker Athletics Club, the numerous Becker this or Becker that storefronts - to be honest we were beginning to feel a bit Beckered out by the end of the day.

Their downtown area has pennants every twenty feet or so that say WELCOME TO BECKER followed by a community sponsor's name. The water tower has Becker written on it with a rainbow going across the top.
We skipped the pic of that too but we did have several people tell us what a great place it is to live - excellent schools, booming economy, and whatnot.

We did manage to pick up a Becker Community Center tee and a great meal at Lucy's Kitchen of Becker.

Let's Go Out and Play

2007-02-03T11:53:00.000-06:00

It's Saturday morning but for Cole it's a holiday because both Mom and Dad are home. He's running around the house harmonizing and pulling out all the cardstock he can reach out of Mom's so-called babyproofed drawers. Ha! Babyproof this! He would love to be outside because in his mind the glass is half-frosted not half frozen but in reality it is 34 below out there. The sun is shining but the wind is howling to remind you of what's really going on. So for now Cole's going to have to settle for a game of chase or 'hereyagothankyou' with Mom and Dad.