The first 3 1/2 months...

OK, so I wasn't going to do a blog because I didn't know when I would find the time to do it. Because let's face it, there have been some days that I haven't even had a chance to shower, leave the house or eat anything of nutritional value. But I was catching up on KC's blog the other day and was smiling at all the cute/funny things she writes about Kalia and Maya. I decided that I did need to document Cole's growing up because Vere and I may not remember it all and it might be kind of cool for Cole to be able to look back on it later...or maybe not? 

So from the beginning... I swear Cole already had this head strong personality when he was born. He knew what he liked and what he didn't like and boy could he scream.

Things he liked: Sleeping on the boppy and looking out windows.

Things he didn't like: Cold wipes on his bottom, any sort of chair, swing or bouncer (Vere and I bought 3 different ones thinking he had to like one of them), pacifiers, red lights and stop signs, any type of baby carrier, sling or wrap.

Cole sleeping on the boppy. He was so little he actually fit inside it. He's wearing a newborn onesie in this pic and it's so big on him.

When he was about a month old we got him an activity mat because we thought he might like that instead... our house was soon beginning to fill with all sorts of things that Cole didn't like.

At 7 weeks, my parents hosted a Welcome Cole Party and all my relatives came to meet Cole. Even KC, Erik, Kalia and Maya came from Maui. The theme was "elephants" because the bedding in Cole's room has elephants on it. We had an elephant cake, my mom made cute elephant cookies with Cole's name on them, Cole-slaw was on the menu and there were mms with Cole's face on it. It was seriously all about Cole.

Cole's Cake

Cole's Cookies

Uncle Ted and Terry

Kanhchana, Terry and Cole

Auntie Cheryl and Cole

Uncle Yuk and Kanhchana

Jan, Gay, Conner, Uncle Ben, Tommy and Yu-Chen

Tutu and Kalia

Great-Grandma and Cole

Maya and Grandpa!

Auntie KC and Cole

KC, Erik, the girls and Tutu also came down to SD for a few days to visit. It was pretty crazy having Kalia (4), Maya (18 months) and Cole (7 weeks) at the house at one time. But it was fun and the girls totally gushed over their new cousin. Thanks to Auntie KC, Cole found a new love of pacifiers and has loved them ever since. And after planning Cole's party and all the other stuff going on, Mom finally got some much needed rest.

Auntie KC, Cole, Maya and Kalia

Tutu and Cole taking a nap

And another nap...

By two months Cole had almost doubled his birth weight and grew 4 inches (94 percentile in both height and weight)! Sleeping on the boppy was still his favorite thing to do and I still spent hours a day sitting on the couch letting him do it.

Now he's now 3 1/2 months old and getting so big. He's outgrowing his 3-6 month clothes and I already have an entire drawer of clothes that no longer fit him. He's really starting to notice the world around him. He smiles and laughs so much that it makes me smile just thinking about it. He's also been examining his hands lately - every chance he gets. Like he's starting to realize that they're his and he can control them. Or maybe he's just wondering what those things are in his face all the time...I have no idea. He still doesn't like the swing but does like sitting in his bouncy chair (if we don't leave him there for a long time) - the Baby Sitter by Bjourn. Which Vere has renamed the Baby Sh*tter because often when Cole sits in it, well you know... must be something about that sitting position. Cole also does not like things hanging above his head when he's tired. That includes the elephant mobile on his crib, the animals on his activity mat and especially Mr. Happy on his car seat. Mr. Happy has since been removed from duty. I can totally understand how somebody constantly smiling at you when you're in a bad mood could be a little annoying. Sadly, the boppy is no longer his favorite place, now he likes to sit in the corner of the couch where he can sit on his own like a big boy. He thinks it's especially funny to lean forward and fall onto his face/stomach. He is also really liking bathtime and splashes A LOT. 

Examining of the hands

More examination...

I wasn't kidding...he's obsessed!

Mr. Happy.

 The Corner - his new favorite spot!

Tummy Time! - Cole is in what I call Phase 3 of Tummy Time. Phase 1 - The Total Workout: he got super tired super easy. It was hard work holding his head up for that long! Phase 2 - Exciting: he loved being able to see the world from a new angle. Phase 3 - Frustration: now he's totally frustrated because no matter how hard he tries, he just can't go anywhere. It's sad but he'll get the hang of it soon, I'm sure of it.

 When it was still fun...

Two weekends ago, the kids were here and we celebrated Tabatha's 11th birthday. Auntie Cheryl, Uncle Curt, Bobby and Chelsey also came over that Saturday for a BBQ so we all celebrated together. We also took Cole to the beach for the first time that weekend. The water was a little cold for him but he did seem to enjoy people watching.

Happy Birthday Tabatha!

Lucy showing us her card trick (thanks for the pic Auntie Cheryl!)

Cole with Bobby and Chelsey

First trip to the beach!

Me and Cole :)

Cold water!

So a few weeks ago Cole decided that he doesn't sleep anymore - day or night. It was taking us 2 hours every night of rocking/crying to get him down. As soon as he would start falling asleep he would just fight it for some reason. Then he'd wake up an hour/hour and 1/2 later and we'd have to do it all over again. Vere started taking him on drives at 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. and he would spend the rest of the night in the car seat which I was absolutely against at first but we really had no choice. Then he was so tired during the day that he couldn't sleep. I would rock him to sleep but as soon as I put him down, he would wake up. It didn't matter if I waited 15 minutes or 60 minutes he just knew when I would put him down. So I started taking him on drives during the day just so he could get a nap in. And I'm not talking a trip around the block, I'm talking getting on the highway and driving in a direction for 20 minutes. I seriously put more miles on my car in those two weeks than I did the two months before that.

The only place he could get any rest.

So about a week and a half ago we started sleep training. I had mixed feelings about it because I still liked having him right next to us in the co-sleeper at night. I was going to miss him and putting him in his own crib in his own room seemed too grown up, too fast. But I knew it really wasn't about me and Cole needed to learn how to get some sleep. The first night was the worst, he cried for 1 hour and 20 minutes and it was torture for me. But it was actually less time than he was crying when we'd try to put him to sleep so I took a little comfort in that. By the third night, Cole fell asleep in 15 minutes and stayed asleep for 5 hours until he woke up to eat. Then went right back to sleep and slept the rest of the night. It was more sleep in one night than he'd ever had (except when we first brought him home and he slept all the time). Naps are not as good and we've had an occasional bad night and I have definitely had some feelings of self doubt thinking Cole wasn't as happy as he was before the sleep training. Although I do realize that he's probably just tired after we've had a bad night. So thanks to 2 how to get your baby to sleep books and the awesome support of my big sis - KC, Cole is now getting some much needed rest... except for last night :) It's like he knew I was going to write that. I think I'll probably be stressing about Cole's sleep for a long time.

Below just some other cute pics from the last 3 1/2 months...

Cole's new toy from Auntie KC. He wasn't ready to touch it but liked looking at it.

Hanging out with friends

My favorite new pic of Cole

He thought this super man thing was pretty funny.