3 F's

This week was full of "F" Family, Father's Day, and Friends. First up, Tutu and G-paw came to give us the Pathfinder for Utah and help daddy out while mommy was at dance all weekend. Ben took care of Cole all by himself on Saturday night (he wanted me to make sure y'all knew he did this by himself). Then, Sunday, of course was Ben's first Father's Day. We didn't do much, just went to breakfast, hung out at the house, and then had a nice steak dinner at home. On Tuesday, Auntie Sarah and Uncle Jesse came to visit and say "goodbye" to us as well. It was so fun seeing them and Sarah's beautiful belly! She's making a little college roommate for Cole and he's due in September. We can't wait to meet him!!!

Day 168
(Sweet Potatoes)

Day 167
(Auntie Sarah and Cole's buddy)

Day 166
(He flopped to his belly in the middle of the night)

Day 165
(Happy Father's Day! We love you!)

Day 164
(Tutu and G-paw work on the bananas)

Day 163
(Mmmm...Bananas!)

Day 162
(Wake up Daddy!!! Time to play!)

Day 161

Starting Solids

On Tuesday, we went to our breastfeeding meeting and Cole got weighed and he only gained 4oz in 2 weeks. That, with the fact that he's been acting really hungry lately, led to a very long discussion with the pediatrician about starting some solids. I really wanted to wait until 6 months but we think he's ready. So after shedding a few tears (I don't know why I'm so emotional about this, but I am) we gave Cole his first taste of real food: Organic Oatmeal Cereal. He is not a fan and this secretly made me happy. After 3 days of hating oatmeal, we moved on to bananas. He liked it a little better. He still makes silly faces and shutters after swallowing, but he's at least eating a few spoonfuls of it. Today I mixed it with a little rice cereal and he liked that a little more. I have to admit that it is kind of exciting to see what foods he likes and dislikes, but, it's also very messy and takes a lot of time. We'll have to see on Tuesday if he gained any.

Day 160
Cole's First Taste of Solid Food

5 Months!

Last week while we were in Spokane, Cole turned 5 months old. Now that we're back and getting up to date with the blog, here's his 5 month stats:

Weight: 16lbs 6oz
Wears size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers
Milestones: he has started rolling from back to tummy now, but then he forgets that he already knows how to roll from tummy to back and he gets frustrated and cries. This has become a huge hassle in bed because he rolls over and wakes himself up. He has also started doing a "raking grasp" and he reaches for everything. All objects, once in hand, must go in the mouth immediately!
Favorite Activities: Cole loves to play with or in anything, including the Jolly Jumper. Another new development this month is that Cole is obsessed with Lola. He's perfectly content watching her do anything and when he sees her in the morning he gives her a huge smile. He's also started to reach out and grab for her, which usually just ends with a fist full of fur. Lola's a great sport though and I think she's warming up to him a little more too. So far she's been super patient and gentle with him. Cole has also found his feet and can get them into his mouth. Mmmmm, toes!
Teeth: Those darn things just won't come in. I wish they would just pop through already so he could stop being uncomfortable until the next round.
Strength: Pretty soon Cole should be sitting on his own. We're practicing this everyday because it turns out that Cole has no interest in sitting and wants to move straight to standing and jumping. He has also started to push himself forward a little bit with his toes when he's on his tummy. I think we'll be baby proofing our new house as soon as we arrive!
Sleeping: All sleep, including naps, takes place in his crib!

Day 158
(already reaching for the beer)

Day 157
(Jolly Jumpin')

Day 156
(Lovey, bink, shades, I'm ready to go, Mom!)

Day 155

Day 154
(Back home with daddy)

Day 153
(Sitting Practice)

Day 152

(Out with the girls)

Day 151
(5 Months Old)

Day 150
(Cousin Madison holding him while he takes a nap)

Cole's Baptism

After many conversations with churches and classes and trying to find a date that worked well for everyone, Cole was finally baptized on Sat., June 6th! It was so special because it worked out that the priest who married us, Fr. Adams, could also do his Baptism at the church where we got married, St. Al's. I had this image of how his Baptism would be and it exceeded my expectations. Cole was just a little angel, of course, and loved every minute. It couldn't have been more perfect!

Day 149
Cole's Baptism

Before the Baptism with Cole's Godparents, Joelle and Dom

Uncle Adam, Aunt Joelle, Daddy, Mommy, Cole, Grandma & Grandpa

Daddy, Nana, Mommy, Cole, Papa

With the Godparents again and Fr. Adams

Daddy, Mommy, Cole, Fr. Adams, G-Paw, Auntie Katie, and Tutu

It feels so good to finally be Baptized!

Kate & Jackson Visit

I have a lot of blogging to do because we've been super busy since I last posted, but we're going to start with a visit from Kate and Jackson Bice. For those of you that don't know, Kate is a good friend of mine from med school (her husband was in Ben's class) and her son, Jackson, aka Jack-a-Roo, is 3. They visited us while Ben was in San Antonio for training. While they were here we were very busy. On Sunday, we went to Kate's cousin's baseball game, then Monday we spent all day at the zoo (which was Cole's first trip to the zoo) and Wednesday we went into Seattle and visited the space needle, which Jackson calls the rocketship building, and the market. It was a very busy, but fun filled trip. Oh, and we did this all with colds, so the kids and mommies were very exhausted at the end of the week.
After Kate and Roo left, Ben came home and he graduated from his internship at Madigan. It was a very long ceremony with an innapropriate and depressing speaker. Needless to say, we're very proud of Ben for his year of hard work supporting us. Also, we must note that Ben was the #2 ranked transitional intern this year and he won an Army Commendation ribbon for his publication this year in the Journal of Louisiana State Medical Society. Way to go daddy!

Day 148

Day 147


Day 146
(Taking a snooze in mom and dad's bed)

Day 145

Day 144
(Point Defiance Zoo)

Jackson caught a Budgie

Day 143

(The most playing our piano has seen in years!)

Big Boy

Cole's becoming such a big boy. When we give him a bottle he has started holding it and trying to get in in his mouth himself. It's pretty cute. Ben said that he's sad because he feels like Cole doesn't need our help feeding him anymore. It was also pretty cute that Ben was bothered by the fact that Cole was feeding himself. Anyway, here's a few pics of him eating and some just because he's so cute.

Day 141

Day 140
(At dance with Mom. He LOVES the mirrors)

Day 139

Lola wanted in on the action

Big boy and his bottle