MOVING...

Wow! Moving is such a big job! We've been going strong for almost 3 weeks and we're still not finished! Things are looking better though. I feel bad I don't have any pictures to post 'cause that's the most exciting part of blogging, but I'll work on it. For now, I guess this will work.

We're enjoying California. The weather has been really nice. I HATE the heat, so I was really worried about living here. California has welcomed us with an unseasonably cool August - yesterday it was around 85 degrees in the middle of the day - not too shabby!

Tyler is getting into school. He's studying quite a bit and learning all sorts of cool stuff. His first classes have been an anatomy class and an osteopathic manipulations class. He's also had to take an intro class which he said was pretty boring - talking about professinalism and stuff. That's over now and he has just the 2 classes (I think), but it sure keeps him busy. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the terms he's using already! (I thought I'd make it past the first 2 weeks...)

We love our ward. There are a lot of really little kids and some older kids. There are a lot of older people in the ward. We've met a lot of really nice families and are glad we chose to be in San Dimas. I just got called to be the chorister for the primary, so I think that will be fun. I'm going to have to brush up on the songs - it's been awhile since I've had to sing all the verses in the right order.

Coleman is getting used to our new place - we're still slowly unpacking (it seems like every time I unpack a box I find another one). He's loving to climb around the boxes and get into whatever mischief he can. He's finally gotten on a bit of a sleeping schedule - He's only getting up one or two times at night! and he has slept through the night once since we got here! He goes to bed between seven and eight and gets up at six thirty. Here's a list of the other fun stuff he's doing - (I guess this is mostly so I can keep track and be able to tell him someday - I should probably get a book so I can keep track of it all in one place, but for now, this will have to work.)

I stole this format from Michele Flamm - hope that's ok :)

10-11 months:

Favorite Foods: watermelon, grapes, strawberries (still), peaches, macaroni and cheese, cheese sticks, yogurt, fruit snacks, milk, water from a straw, chicken, hot dogs, goldfish, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate, or anything anyone else is eating.

Favorite Toys: balls, books, music boxes, drum, tambourine, anything that fits in his mouth, lawn mower, straws, sticks, rocks, DIRT!!!, blocks (when we build towers), stacking cups (with or without food in them), anything that floats in the bathtub, or anything Dad or Mom has.

Biggest Fear: sleeping!! Cole still doesn’t like to sleep! I think he’s worried something will go on and he won’t see it. Cole is also afraid of standing by himself. He has great balance and can do it, but the minute he realizes he’s not holding on, he sits right down.

Favorite Song: Hello, Hello Let’s Sing Together, Twinkle Twinkle, A Bushel and a Peck, anything Daddy or Mommy sings or anything we sing at church. He was soooo entertained by the string and flute quartet at Dad’s white coat ceremony.

Favorite Non-Toy: his mini afghan (and any other afghan we have in the house – they’re all “his”)

Things Cole Mimics: the Tour de France victory dance, kisses, pointing at everything, anything anyone does that makes a noise (clapping, tapping, hitting toys together)

Favorite Games: Cole loves playing catch. We sing the ball song and he’ll catch the ball then hand it back to you to roll or bounce again. He loves to play “so big”, Cole likes to show everyone his toys or anything he’s holding in his hands. He also likes to take food in and out of his mouth… yuck!

Soothers: "Binkus” and his mini afghan

Favorite Place: the bathroom – Cole loves to hang over the edge of the tub and say “Bah” (bath). He also loves to swim and be anywhere there is water. He loves to be outside where he can see the trees and flowers. Cole loves being at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house (all of them). He especially loves my mom’s fireplace. Cole loves to explore new places and takes a special interest in places that are hard to get to (under or between any furniture or holding on to any floor lamp).

Mischievous things that he does: Cole LOVES to stand up in the tub, play tag (he looks at you to see if you’re following then crawls of at Mach 10 as he laughs and screams), eat everything off the floor, crawl under and around furniture, sneak his fingers into his food dish, pull everything out of any cupboard or drawer he can reach.

Least Favorite things: riding rear facing in his car seat, eating baby food, going to bed, and sitting through any meeting

Favorite People: Daddy, Mommy, Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunt Leanne, Uncles, little kids, and anyone that will talk to him!
Proudest Moments: feeding himself with a spoon, getting to where he wants to go, and splashing in the bathtub.

Hair Color: blonde/reddish – it looks just like Tyler’s color. Everyone calls it red, but it looks more blondish to me.

Best Features: gorgeous blue eyes, contagious smile, Woody Woodpecker laugh

Sleep Schedule: whatever he feels like. He’s getting a little better and sleeping a little more, but since we moved, he’s been way off. He is getting up between 6 and 6:30. He is really tired during the day because he doesn’t nap well (on top of the moving they’re also doing renovations on the outside of the apartment, so they’re hammering at all hours). Cole goes to bed between 5:30 and 8 and sleeps pretty well for 4 or 5 hours then he’s up between 2 and 5 times before 6 - poor little guy. Before we moved he was doing really well – sleeping straight through between midnight and 5am!! We’re hoping he returns to this schedule soon.

How Cole recharges himself: Cole loves to snack! Sometimes he eats 8 meals in a day!! He doesn’t eat lots at once, but he loves to eat!!!

***

We’ve recently moved and that’s made life pretty interesting! Things have been a little crazy, but through it all, Cole has made things a lot of fun. He makes us laugh even when everything else seems stressful. Cole has been learning so much and doing so many more things! Here are just a few:

*Cole LOVES to swim and hang out at the pool! He's definitely a water baby. We've just got to figure out a way to get him to not drink it...
*Cole is saying a few words now: Dad, Mem (Mom), bah (bath), dut (duck and all other animals), and doa (dog). He also says something at the end of prayers (it doesn't sound at all like amen, but it at least comes in the right spot). This week he's started folding his arms during the prayer. It's pretty cute.
*Cole LOVES to read books. He practically throws them to you then crawls over so he can see. Some of his favorite books are: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Big Hungry Bear, Brown Bear, Wake Up Little Bunny, Cock-a-doodle Blue, This Little Piggy, Pet and Play, and any of the touch and feel books.
*Cole surprised us last week by feeding himself with a spoon. I've been trying to get him to do that forever and he wouldn't. As it turns out I just wasn't offering the right food. Somebody should have told me to try chocolate mousse with whipped cream! :)