Cole's 1st baseball

What the heck am I supposed to do with this? Oh wait, I know...

MMM dirty leather...

blech.

Sorry baseball...

Sammy tastes much better.

What about basketballs? Do they taste any better?


Hey, there's my daddy. (He wouldn't stop looking at Justin.)

Cole's new favorite thing

It's a mesh feeder full of bananas. And he LOVES it. He ate on it for about 30 minutes which gave me time to cook dinner. He was a giant mess afterwards, but it was worth it!

(this close) to crawling

He may not be crawling, but he definitely gets around!

This guy.

Guess who's seven months old and really likes his feet?

I like his feet, too. :)

Reasons why Cole doesn't know his name

Here is a list of names we call Cole:
(Note: none of them are his name.)
Booger
Booger Bear
Booger Butt
(replace Booger with Boogie for all of the above)
Boogie
Boogs
Bud
Buddy Bear
Sugar Booger
Coley-oley-oley-o
Turd Face (when he’s being one)
Turd Bucket
Fussy Butt
Drool Bucket
Droolie Droolerson
Droolie Drooler
Dude
Duder Butt

I keep thinking of more.
We're trying to do better about calling him Cole. Poor kid. :(

THANK YOU!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/jenny-mccarthy-doesnt-know-what-causes-autism-644259/

Jenny McCarthy is not the person I would choose to listen to when it comes to anything besides how to best pick my nose or make a fart joke.

Snow Day and Valentine's Day

It started snowing on Thursday 02/11/10. It snowed all day; big huge flakes. It didn't really start accumulating until late afternoon. When I woke up on Friday, this is what I saw.

FIVE inches of snow. It was so pretty! And a day off from work. Justin had to go in, but Cole and I hung out all day. We actually had a really good day.

I let Cole play with some, but it didn't last very long. He tried to eat it, but he wanted actual food.



He was definitely NOT impressed.

Guess what I had for lunch?

He loves to chew on the straps in his high chair. He actually sucks on them sometimes.

He's figured out he can move around in his crib now. This is how I found him sleeping Saturday afternoon.

Happy Valentine's Day. His shirts says "Cupid is my homeboy."

Just cuz I'm cute. :)

I WANT THIS BAG

http://mckgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/02/kelly-moore-camera-bag-giveaway.html

I want this bag.

peas

I think we might have finally found something Cole doesn't like. Not that I wanted him to not like any foods...I just was beginning to wonder if he actually tasted anything. Or if he was just swallowing...or if actually had taste buds. :)

Twice now he has refused to eat peas. I love peas, but Justin hates them. So much so that he wouldn't even feed them to him because he hates the smell. I, who despise bananas with everything that am I, was able to peel, mash, and feed Cole bananas with no problem (okay, so I gagged a little, but I still did it). Regardless, it appears not to be an issue anymore, because Cole actually has taste buds and decided he dislikes peas. So there you go!

It's like our dog, Sadie. We felt the same way about her until we tried to feed her a raw potato. I don't think she should be eating raw potatoes anyway...but it's the one thing she has ever turned her nose up at. Speaking of...anyone want a dog?

Just thought I'd throw that in there. :)

my love affair

Ever since a couple of hours after Cole was born and I had my first meal in roughly 24 hours, I have been having a love affair. Yes, I am in love, people. With whom, you ask?



This guy...He always treats me right.
Oh, and he's a doctor!

I went without food or drink (besides a few ice chips) for 24 hours waiting on Cole. So when they wheeled that dinner tray in after my recovery period was over, and I saw a Dr. Pepper can, I heard the Hallelujah chorus. I was not a big fan of Dr. Pepper, but at that point, I didn't care. I cracked open the can and chugged like a 18 year old frat boy. It was the best thing that I ever tasted in my life.
Since then, I have become a Dr. Pepper drinker. My husband says I'm like a meth user. Supposedly the first high on meth is what makes people get addicted. They keep using to try to attain that same high, but never can. (He's not speaking from experience, by the way...we just watch a lot of Intervention.)
So I keep drinking Dr. Pepper trying to get that same "high" I got after Cole was born. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm still trying.
In the interest of my still-not-back-to-its-original-size waistline, I have decided to start a new affair with my old lover's half-brother.

He's not quite the same, but he gets the job done.

Simple Pleasures

Kelly on Kelly's Korner just posted her "simple pleasures."
I was thinking about this last night and decided I would do a list of my own. These things make me happier than anything in the world (in no particular order).

1. Laying on the couch with my hubby watching Cole play on the floor.
2. Watching Cole discover something new everyday.
3. Waking up thinking it's time to get up, only to realize I have a few more hours to sleep.
4. Driving through the Pineywoods of East Texas.
5. Laying in a toob on the river in the dead heat of summer with a cold, cold beer in one hand and a soggy sandwich in the other.
6. Listening to the waves roll in at the beach.
7. Looking at my son and realizing that I made him (with a little help from hubby of course). He is so amazing.
8. A really good steak.
9. A really good margarita.
10. A really good anything chocolate.
11. The smell of the Gristmill.
12. Historical places like Gruene or Jefferson.
13. Losing myself in my ipod, depending on what mood I'm in.
14. A beautiful spring day when the bluebonnets are blooming...just going riding around enjoying the day.
15. Aggieland.
16. Cole's laugh. It is good for my soul to hear him laugh. :)
17. Seeing Justin with Cole. He is such a good dad.

realizations

Here in the past few days I've had a few realizations. Yet another thing to be filed under "stuff people told me, but I didn't really appreciate until now."
I have been trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life for a while now. Going back to school had always been a possibility. Now that I have Cole, I just don't see how it will be possible for several reasons. Time is the main thing. How can I work (presumably full-time), go to school, take care of the house and Cole and Justin and me and still have some semblance of sanity? I honestly don't think it's possible.
Also, we're starting to think about saving for Cole's college. Neither Justin nor my parents had a savings for either of us to go to college. I ended up being blessed with a full scholarship and Justin used the GI Bill. But, we have both agreed that we want to try to pay for as much of Cole's college as we can. (If you ask Justin he says "only if he goes to A&M." haha...This coming from the man who, when we first got engaged, told me "you're not going to force A&M on our kids." My, my how time and a few years of brain-washing will change one's tune. But, I digress)...
So, any money that goes towards me furthering my education effectively takes away from us saving for Cole's education. Although, if I am able to get a higher paying job with more education it will allow us to save more. Anyway, the point is all of these things I might not be able to do would normally be disappointing to me. But, for the most part, I'm not. I just want to provide for my child. I have always heard, "once you have kids, you don't matter anymore, you just want to be able to do for them." Yes, it made perfect sense at the time, but now I can fully appreciate it. Even spending $10 on a shirt on sale at Old Navy, I think about the stuff I could be buying for him. I could go spend $100 getting my hair done so I don't feel so dang homely, but that's $100 that could go towards his education. That's another way the motherly guilt comes in. If I do spend money on myself, I feel guilty.
I also think about those kids out there who are doing without. Their parents aren't worried about paying for their college, they're worried about paying for food. Shelter. Medical expenses. Or those kids don't have one or both of their parents. Or they would be better off without their parents because they're drug addicts or abusive. Those kids are worried about surviving. It makes me feel so blessed. I know I am blessed. And I thank God so much for that.
I think God is trying to lead me to help with kids in some capacity. Such as being a counselor of some sort. But, I have such a soft spot for kids like that I don't know if I have the strength to do it. I think those kids need a person like me who cares deeply about their well-being. Someone who would do everything in their power to help them find a better life. But, I just don't know if I could do it on a day-to-day basis. The stress has to be unbelievable. But, it would be a constant reminder to me to always treasure my family.
Ugh...my brain hurts. Could you imagine living in my brain? It's a very crowded place.