"I Love Black Beans!"

I think the pictures speak for themselves!!!! Cole has gotten to where he will eat just about anything and one of his new favorites are black beans! Boy do they make a HUGE mess but hey, if he loves them that is all that matters!

Bye Bye

We got to have a wonderful catered lunch at Rhonald's clinic today to help celebrate his birthday (which is Monday). I dressed Cole up in his Halloween costume and everyone thought he was adorable! We ate a great lunch and had a yummy piece of birthday cake. Cole was passed from person to person and did very well. He loved the banner that said "happy birthday" because the girls would make it wiggle around. He would laugh and laugh! When we were about to leave everyone started waving saying "bye bye" to us. Cole has never waved in his life but today he said "bye bye" plain as day twice! We were all freaking out. I thought it might just be a fluke since he is only 9 1/2 months old but after the party we went to Old Navy and he said "bye" to the cashier! I cannot believe it! He may just not be a waver...but he sure is a talker!!!

Something New To Do

As I mentioned before Cole has started to pull up on anything and everything! He loves doing it and he really loves all of the new things he can find and see once he stands up! We bought him this new toy to pull up on and eventually he will be able to push it around. He really likes pushing all of the buttons and turning all of the nobs! This thing keeps him busy let me tell you. He also enjoys the coffee table and loves looking for things to play with up there. We have started putting some toys up there for him to find and he gets so excited when he sees them. He has been eating a lot better lately too which is fun and makes us feel better. However, now that Cole is pulling up and eating finger foods he is worse than Mason about begging. Last night Rhonald was eating a cookie and Cole was pulling up on his pants and throwing a fit wanting a bite! And once I sat down with my dinner it dinner it did not take him 5 seconds to get to the table and pull up and beg for more to eat! What a little piggy he has become!!! This stage is so much fun. Every time he changes we say, "this is my favorite stage" but honestly it is...he gets more and more fun all of the time!

Pumpkin Frenzy

Tuesday night Rachel and Jamie had a group of friends over for a pumpkin carving contest and it was so much fun! We have not carved pumpkins in so long and it was a blast to get to do it again (and we look forward to doing it every year from now on!). While the boys carved away in the garage (for about 2 hours) the girls and the babies stayed inside and talked and ate and played. Above is a picture of Cole and his pals...Nathan (7 months), Audrie (9 months), Cole, and Ben (5 months). The babies had fun together and got along very well!

As you can see from this picture there were some beautiful and elaborate pumpkins! Everyone did a great job with their carvings but my favorite was this one....

I thought it was so ironic that Rhonald carved a spider into his pumpkin because he absolutely hates spiders. And not just a little bit...a lot! I will say, although the spider did not win 1st prize I was impressed because Rhonad was the only person to carve his pumpkin without a stencil. That should count for something right?!

Everyone had such a great time and we are so thankful to Rachel and Jamie for having us over. We hope that it was the first of many pumpkin carving parties that they will host (hint, hint)!

Some Fun Pictures To Share

Cole can finally sit in his rocking chair for a few seconds without tumbling out. This chair used to be Rhonald's and we have many, many pictures of Rhonald rocking away in it. I was so happy to finally get one of Cole. I must confess, right after I snapped the photo he slipped out...but laughed when he hit the floor!

We have these neat shelves under our coffee table and end table. We use them to store baskets of Cole's toys and recently Cole has figured out how to pull the baskets off and get his own toys. Today he figured out how to crawl up on to the shelf and sit there for a few minutes. The only problem is that he is not quite sure how to get down ... but I am sure he will learn that very soon!

This has to be our favorite "new face" that Cole makes. He has started grinning when he is happy and the cutest part of it is that he sticks his top 2 teeth out. It is almost like he is so proud of them he can't help but show them off! He has been doing this face so much lately and every time Rhonald and I crack up because it is so sweet!

Here is an action shot of Cole getting up on the shelf. I am not sure why it got separated from the other shot.

Another fun thing he likes to do is crawl into his room and pull all of his books out of the basket. As soon as they are all out I start putting them back. As I start putting them back in the basket he is already pulling them back out. He loves books...reading them, playing with them and chewing on them! It is really fun to watch him enjoy them in every way!

9 Month Check Up

Cole had his 9 month check up today. Dr. Thomas said that everything looks wonderful! She is so funny...she even told me that Cole has a beautiful and straight back! As soon as she walked in to the room he started smiling and charming her once again. She loved his teeth and watched him crawl some and listened to him talk. Poor Dr. Thomas ... I always have a bunch of questions but she made sure to answer all of them. We even got to see nurse Susan, the lactation consultant, who praised me for still nursing Cole and loved seeing how much he had grown. Speaking of...Cole weighs 20 lbs 6 oz and is 29.25 inches long!

Some things that he loves are....feeding himself, reading books, playing with Mason, going outside. He loves "the itsy bitsy spider" and "this little piggy." He likes when we build a tower with blocks and he gets to knock it down. He loves crawling over obstacles. He likes looking for toys after we have hidden them. Cole loves to see himself in the mirror. He loves taking a bath. He is starting to pull up on things. He has 8 teeth. A neat thing he started doing a couple of days ago is that when we read a "touch and feel" book he can figure out where to feel without us showing him. Cole is pulling up on the furniture and can roll a ball back and forth with us. Cole laughs at anything and everything and because of that he never meets a stranger. Everyday brings something new and different. Our little boy is so much fun to play with and cuddle with...he is so full of love and has made our life absolutely wonderful!

A Day At The Pumpkin Patch

We had an absolutely wonderful time at the pumpkin patch this morning! We had heard about the patch from several friends and decided to check it out today. We had no idea what to expect but we were so happy with what we found! When we arrived they gave us our own wagon filled with straw and a huge pair of clippers to cut our own pumpkin off of the vine. They offered hay rides and they even had a picnic area in case you brought your own lunch. Cole did not know what to think about the wagon at first but loved it by the end of the trip! We walked to the end of the patch where the "big" pumpkins were and, after about 45 mins, picked out 3 beautiful pumpkins to decorate our front porch. It was so much fun and the weather could not have been nicer. Cole loved seeing all of the other children and the pumpkins. He wanted to get down and crawl everywhere but we carried him most of the time because it was a little muddy. Rhonald and I agreed that this will have to become a family tradition since it was so fun - and so easy! Cole had such a great time that he slept the entire drive home! I can't wait until it gets a little closer to Halloween so that we can carve our pumpkins!!!!!