trick or treat...

Cole was a zebra for Halloween this year. I bought the costume a couple months ago and thought it was going to be way too big for him. It was a 6-12 month size and he was only going to be 6 months. But when Halloween came around, it fit him perfectly. Since he goes to bed early and nobody besides Vere and I would to see him in his costume, I took him down to Vere's work the Friday before when everyone at the office was dressed up. He was a hit! And he was in such a good mood, smiling at everyone and letting strangers hold him. It was fun!


Cole at Vere's office



The cookies I made for Vere to take to work. I'm having a small obsession with royal icing...



Me and C


 

Here is the whole costume with his feet

He also had his 6 month well check on Wednesday. He weighed 19 lbs. (85 percentile) and was 28.5 inches long (97 percentile). Which means he is already almost half as tall as I am! He is also crazy active now. We can no longer change Cole's diaper and expect him to just lie still. He's crazy! He just wants to flip over the entire time. It's almost impossible to change him! I have to start using his changing table exclusively now because it's sort of shaped like a U and it's harder for him to roll over in.

I thought this was funny. Cole is constantly moving, especially his feet. And this ball got stuck in between his feet and he was just moving it around because his feet were moving non stop. It was going on for like 5 minutes so I had to take a video.

Last week Cole started eating sweet potatoes and loves it! He is eating two solid meals a day now. One in the morning/early afternoon and the other just before bedtime. Although I haven't experienced the one or two more hours of sleep that I've been dreaming of. But on a good night, Cole will go 9-10 hours before waking up. Then will go back to sleep for another hour or two. I should probably just go to bed at 6:30 when Cole does and that will solve my sleep deprivation problem. Tomorrow he starts bananas.  

Cole's latest obsession... the tags and labels on anything and everything. He just loves looking at or chewing on the tags that are on his toys, clothes and bibs. And loves to look at the warning labels in his car seat, the mobile on his crib and on his activity center. For some reason they totally catch his eye and he is more interested in the tags then the toys themselves.


Inspecting the tag on his shorts


 

Chewing the tag on his bib


 

Tag on his toy


 

Another tag!




Seriously, it's borderline OCD




Or perhaps he can actually read... who knows!

 Cole is so funny. He has been laughing so much and playing and talking and really experimenting with sounds. He's started to figure out that he can also rollover from front to back. So tonight he was just rolling around on the floor chewing on a teething toy and squealing then grunting and then laughing. It's fun to see him having such a good time. There are two things that always get a laugh out of him: 1. Saying "cuckoo, cuckoo" over and over again. He thinks it's so funny for some reason. And 2. He likes it when I say "boing, boing, boing!" especially when I do it when we're walking down the stairs.

We also went up to C-mont to hang out with Christine and her two kids, Liam (4) and Abbey (1). We went to a cool park that had a huge pond with tons of ducks.




All of us at the park

 

Christine, Liam and Abbey  (Liam is eating a blue ring pop)



Liam pointing at the ducks

 Some other pics...

Vere and Tabatha at the Justin Bieber concert. Vere got major dad points for A) taking Tabatha to the Justin Bieber concert and B) wearing his red skinny jeans (not pictured).

Taking a close look at Tutu. This was before I gave him his haircut...you can kind of see the comb over.



Seriously, I leave him alone for 1 minute.



He can't crawl yet but somehow always manages to make his way to the diaper caddy

Chillin out in his chair that he got from the Haraguchis

5 1/2 months...

I can't believe Cole is 5 1/2 months old. It doesn't seem like a very long period of time but already he has developed so much and I seriously can't imagine our life without him. When I started this blog 2 months ago, Cole hated being on his tummy and now he spends most of his time there. He couldn't fall asleep by himself and now he puts himself to sleep every night. He also didn't really notice anything except for his hands. And now he has a bunch of toys that he plays with and even has some favorites.  



Even though Cole has a ton of toys, the empty water bottle is one of his favs!


Cole has been eating rice cereal successfully everyday for the last 2-3 weeks. Although lately he's realized that he's wearing a bib and is sometimes more interested in putting that in his mouth than eating. And since his appetite has grown, he's also been drinking a few ounces of formula a few times a day. He's funny because he has to have his hands on the bottle like he's holding it but he's constantly putting pressure down and away from his face. It sometimes turns into an arm wrestling match trying to keep the bottle in the right position...he is freakishly strong for a baby!

Rice Cereal - Round 2... a success!


It has been so amazing to watch him grow. You can totally see that he's really starting to think and is beginning to turn into a clever little boy. For instance, since he is still not rolling over from front to back consistently, we still have to go into his room when he lands on his tummy and doesn't want to be. But when we watch on the monitor, we've noticed that he'll let out a few cries, then stop and try to look over the crib towards the door, then he'll let out a few more cries. He does it over and over until we go in there like he's looking for us and wondering why we're not in there yet! He also loves the remote - he always has his eye on it. I even bought him a toy remote that I point at the TV several times a day. But he is not fooled and still wants to play with the real one!

 This is not the most exciting video in the world. But it is so amazing what he's doing! He has been moving these little rings up and across on his activity center. I am seriously so proud of him!

I have decided not to obsess about his sleep anymore. I've come to terms with the fact that it may never be perfect and I may never get a solid 8 hours again. Some nights are great and they seem to come just in time before I go crazy because it hasn't been so great. Here are some funny things about Cole and his sleep:

1. When he gets tired, he grabs a handful of the hair on the top of his head and pulls. He does it over and over again and for some reason it doesn't really bother him even though it hurts me when he pulls my hair.
2. As soon as I put Cole in his crib to go to sleep for bedtime or naps, he always closes his eyes, turns his head to one side and covers his face with one arm.
3. He is still sleeping with his feet up at some point almost every night.

I am sad to say that we're saying goodbye to the faux hawk and hello to the comb over. The cute hair that Cole was born with that gave him a natural faux hawk is now more than twice as long as the rest of his hair and is starting to fall over. And since the hair underneath is not as thick or long, he sometimes looks like he has a comb over. I'm debating on whether or not to give him a hair cut...


A couple weeks ago on October 3, we celebrated Lucy's 9th birthday...



Lucy with cake



Opening presents!



Here are the cookies I made for Lucy to take to her softball game she had on her birthday.
(Thanks mom for the recipe and icing supplies!)

Last weekend it was actually hot in San Diego and we went to the beach. This time is was much easier with Cole because he could lay on a towel and play with toys. Last time we went to the beach all he could do was lay on his back and move his arms and legs.



me and C




C and V




He was having a good time.


Some other pics of Cole...


Wearing his new beanie on a rainy day

 

He still likes pulling the diapers out...he really out did himself this time!




Reading...




Playing with Vere's iPad already!
Cole is going to be part of this new technology generation...it's crazy.




Hanging out in his pjs.



Glad that daddy came home from work early! 

 

New experiences...

So far it's been a busy month for Cole. With so much going on, it's no wonder his sleep is still off.

Rice Cereal: Last month, I asked Cole's pediatrician when he would sleep through the night and not wake for his midnight snack. Dr. Martin thought he probably was waking up hungry since he's so big. He suggested giving Cole some rice cereal before bedtime and I might gain another hour or two on his first leg of sleep. So that afternoon I picked up some rice cereal so I could give it to Cole before bedtime. If you've never tried to feed a baby solid food for the first time then it sounds so simple... give him some before bedtime and gain 1 or 2 more hours of sleep - awesome! But when Vere came in and found me on the rocker with Cole on my lap and a bowl of rice cereal on the table next to me and asked why Cole wasn't sitting in his own chair or wearing a bib, I knew that this was not going to be the simple task I was envisioning in my head. Needless to say, night 1 of rice cereal was not a success. And neither were nights 2 and 3. I soon realized that there is just no way I could introduce something this new to Cole just before bed, the time of day when he is the most tired and cranky. It was an impossible task. So the next day I started giving Cole the rice cereal at some point in the morning/early afternoon. That way I could get him used to it so I can one day give it to him before bedtime and then I may finally get another hour or two of sleep. But that dream is a long way off. I actually did have a couple of successful and super messy attempts but have decided to call it quits for now and will try again at 5 months. It was just too much work and neither one of us were ready for it. And at this point, I can live with waking up in the middle of the night.



Rice Cereal!



Travels: September 10 - 13 was the 3rd Annual Koga Family Reunion in Carmel. We rented a villa right on Highway 1! The weekend was so much fun! And I'm not just saying that because I managed to come home with the Koga Kup this year :) We really are lucky to have such a great family. We have so much fun together. This trip was Cole's first time flying and I was so nervous because we never know what we're gonna get. But he did such a great job on the way out there. Not one cry the entire day. It was funny because people on the flight even commented on what a well behaved baby we have and asked if he was always that mellow. The first night we were there, Cole actually slept the longest he has ever slept before. The room we stayed in was a level below the rest of the house. There was no heat in that room for some reason and there was a door to outside so there was a constant cold draft of air going through the room. Cole had on a long sleeve onesie, a long sleeve shirt, footed pants, sweat pants on top of that and 2 blankets! But when Vere and I came to bed he was freezing so I pulled him into bed with me. I don't know if it was the comfort or warmth of sleeping with his mommy but he slept 8 hours straight! Then went back to sleep for another 3 1/2 hours! I told Vere that Cole was gonna sleep in bed with us every night! But he quickly shot down that idea. Also, thank you Kimber for bringing the space heater - we wouldn't have survived without it! After that first night however, Cole began slipping into his pre-sleep-training days and had the two worst nights of sleep he'd had in weeks. He also was not an angel on the flights home. I did manage to get him to fall asleep on both flights but he did not go down without piercing a few ear drums first. The people on those flights did not comment on what a great baby we have...

Reunion Highlights:

• Winning the Koga Kup.
• The Koga Kup Tournament itself was super fun. Kimber organized it this year and added some seriously entertaining Minute to Win It games.
• The usual Koga smorgasbord.
• The 17 Mile Drive, although it was kinda cold.
• The jellyfish exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
• Uncle Curt saying that the brown mm's are the best because they're chocolate flavored. (sorry Uncle Curt... but that really was funny!)

Cole at the airport in his new stroller ready for his trip. He loves this stroller by the way. I guess it's kind of nice being able to see what's going on. Before he was in a travel system and always stayed in his car seat.



The villa

Our view of the ocean



The 17 Mile Drive: Bobby, Curtis Ross, Tommy, Yu-Chen, Chelsey and Kimber at Spanish Bay (I think)

KC, Maya, Vere and I at the same place. Cole and Kalia were sleeping in the cars. Which were parked 20 feet from us, we didn't just leave then in a parking lot somewhere.

Bird Rock with lots of seals on it.

Vere and I in front of The Lone Cypress along the 17 Mile Drive.



Bobby stacking his cups during the tournament.

Chelsey moving cotton balls from one plate to another with vaseline on her nose. These are the Minute to Win It games.

Curtis Ross trying to knock down soda cans with rubberbands. Sarah, Jan, Auntie Cheryl and Yu-Chen all laughing at something in the background.



Even mom got in on the action!



Cole with cousins Kalia and Maya.

Cole sitting on cousin Maya's lap. Maya was so cute - she had to have Cole on her lap just like Kalia.

Cole with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa

Cole with Auntie Midori

Mom with the cookies she made to look like Scrabble game pieces to go with the Koga Kup Tournament theme.

We also celebrated National Grandparents Day on September 12. Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie Midori, Uncle Ben and Mom.



The cake



Kalia and Maya looking at fish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium 



The jellyfish

More jellyfish

Jellyfish video. I wish I had made it longer...



Vere (last year's winner) passing the Koga Kup on to me after I beat out KC in the final round. We were happy to bring it back home to San Diego. Better luck next time guys :)

2010 Koga Family Reunion Pic (minus Jan, Auntie Midori and Uncle Ben because they were still at the aquarium and Tommy was leaving with his cool camera).





Below are some of the other things Cole has been doing this month...

Cole in the middle of his new playroom. It used to be our living room. He has accumulated a lot of new toys this month.

Cole playing in the activity center he got from the Levensons. It was so cool because he was actually making the bird spin.

Deciding which new toy to play with.

This is Cole's new thing. Pulling clean diapers out of the diaper caddy when I'm changing him.




And then he tries to put the diaper in his mouth. He has really been grabbing at everything lately.



This is how Cole has been sleeping at night - with his feet up. Sorry if you can't see it that well, it's on Cole TV (aka: the baby monitor).



Cute video of Cole...and Vere.