They Say It's Your Birthday

We had a fun American-themed birthday party for Cole on Nov. 4. I couldn't resist, what with it being Election Day and all. Thanks to all who came and helped-we missed everyone who couldn't make it! Cole has enjoyed all his many presents (thanks again) and is still enthralled by the ever-shrinking balloons that fill the corners of our living room. It seems so weird that it's already been a year. But it has been an eventful one! Happy birthday little guy-we sure are glad we have you!

He wasn't quite sure what to do with the cake. I tried to coerce him into eating it, with no luck.

The magical balloons-the gift that keeps on giving

Opening a present with some help from Dad

Singing 'Happy Birthday'-he looks a little unsure, don't you think?

OK, that's all for now. Two posts in one night is plenty!!

Halloween......

OK, I know this is just a tad late, but I wanted to post some pics from Halloween. Cole was dressed up as a plump pumpkin. He was so cute! However, the fleece and cotton was a bit too hot for him, and he was DONE by the end of the night. Here are the promised pictures:

Our carved masterpieces after Family Home Evening

We went and surprised Aunt Marci at USU.

Visiting Grandma at her house with the Randalls.

All in all, it was a fun day. Cole was a little unsure about the whole thing, but he caught on to the idea pretty quick. The only he didn't get was putting the candy in the treat bag. Whenever someone would hand him a piece of candy, he would throw it on the floor. Silly boy!

A Year of Cole

Today is my baby's birthday. I thought it would be fun to look back on the adventurous year it has been! Here is a year of Cole in pictures:

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

Happy Birthday Cole! We love you and can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Tag! I'm it!

I have been tagged! Here are some things about me (in groups of 8):

8 TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH
1. The Office
2. Pushing Daisies
3. The Amazing Race
4. Antiques Roadshow (although Tones HATES it!)
5. Survivor
6. The Biggest Loser
7. 30 Rock
8. Sesame Street

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1. Fredrico's
2. Costa Vida
3. Maddox
4. Bluebird
5. El Toro Viejo
6. Old Grist Mill
7. Logan's Heroes
8. Training Table (mmm...cheese fries)

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
1. I went to work
2. I tried to entertain Cole while trying to get something done at work
3. We came home
4. We played
5. We napped
6. We made dinner (ok, I mostly made dinner)
7. Tony came home
8. We watched the Office, and laughed ALOT! (I know, exciting life, huh?)

8 THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO
1. This weekend
2. Tony's birthday on Monday
3. Cole's birthday
4. Election day
5. Halloween
6. Hopefully quitting work
7. Thanksgiving
8. Christmas

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST
1. Getting the carpet cleaned
2. Entertainment center so that Cole doesn't knock over the TV
3. House
4. Truck
5. More winter clothes
6. Cute Keen shoes
7. Shop Vac
8. Time

8 PEOPLE I TAG
1. Kris
2. Kati
3. Murri
4. Erica
5. Crystal
6. Jon
7. Christine
8. Lani

1st Haircut!

On Friday, Sept. 19, Cole got his first haircut! My cute friend Ashley works at a local salon, so we called her up and made an appointment. She was so quick at cutting his hair that I don't even think he knew what was happening until the end! Thanks Ashley! Here are the before pictures:

And, here are the after pictures:

He REALLY looks all grown-up now! There is only one little downside: his giant cowlick is much more noticeable now! But that's life. I am slowly realizing that I do not have a baby anymore. I have a crawling, trying-to-walk little boy who jabbers to himself all day and tries to do everything Tony and I do. He is sure growing up fast!

5 Things

OK, so I'm really bad at keeping this updated. Here are five NEW things about our lives:

1. We got to go to the State Fair last Friday with Kristin and Abby. I was highly anticipating seeing the butter cow, and it did not disappoint! Here are some pictures of the fun:

Me in front of the butter sculpture. Yay!

Cole LOVED the calf!

For some reason, he also loved the rusty fence. Crazy boy!

2. We spent Sunday afternoon and evening at my parent's house for dinner with the family. It's always a good time and great food! Yum! Cole loves to play with all his cousins, and they are always nice enough to play with him. Here he is with Hannah and Rachel, exploring the backyard:

3. Cole has some new tricks (but he won't let me catch them on video). He can now clap, turn the pages of the book, and shake his head 'no' when he doesn't want something (mostly food).

4. Our beloved Aggie football team got slaughtered by the Utes on Saturday. We watched most of the game. I had to keep reminding Tony not to yell at the TV, as it scares Cole. :)

5. My dad told me that my Grandma's house was going to be demolished last week, so we took the opportunity to drive by on Sunday. Quite the surreal experience. It was almost completely gone. All that remained was the giant black walnut tree and part of the foundation. I have been told that the school district that bought the property is planning on keeping the tree, which makes me very happy. The strangest part was that it didn't even resemble my Grandma's property at all, which could be good or bad, depending on your view. I, for one, am forever grateful for all the wonderful memories I have of that house and piece of land. I am also grateful that it will house a wonderful school someday, where children can learn and (hopefully) play under that giant tree like I used to.

5 Things

1.) My baby has learned to crawl. Well, kind of. It looks like he's trying to zig-zag across the room or something. But he's still learning. And we're okay with the fact that he's not so fast at it yet. Here's a quick peek:

2.) Cole has also decided that pouring all the puffs out of the container is WAY more fun than just eating them. Case in point:

3.) We are all really enjoying the 10-hour, 4 day work week (who knew?). The days seem to go by a little slow, but the weekend is definitely worth it!

4.) I told Lee's this week that I am done working in November. We'll see what happens. I technically could still work on Fridays, but I'm not sure I want to make that commitment. It will mean a little less money for us, but that's okay. It's worth not having to wrestle with Cole while I try to get my work done.

5.) I am now at the ripe old age of 29. Tones took me to Park City to do some shopping on Friday, while Mom and Dad watched Cole. We even stopped at the glorious Training Table for some cheese fries! It was a great day, and I'm looking forward to a great year!

Time For a Break

This is what happens when you've been doing mundane work too long and your child is bored out of his mind! And yes, that is an envelope on Cole's head!

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Saturday was supposed to be a relaxing day with family. Let's just say it didn't turn out that way. Everything was fine until Derk's wedding ring decided it wanted to go swimming in the river by itself. A bunch of us rushed into the river to help him look for it. Not wanting to lose my own ring during the search, I promptly put it on my index finger. We looked and looked and looked for Derk's ring-but it was nowhere to be found. Finally we gave up the search and headed back into the cabin. During the search I had kind of noticed that my finger was getting swollen. When I went back into the cabin, I tried to pull my ring off. No go. I tried putting PAM on it. Still nothing. Then I tried dish soap. It was stuck. I was a little worried at this point. My dad and Kris said I should hurry down to Instacare in North Ogden before the circulation was completely cut off. I conceded and we rushed to North Ogden. After some more drama and driving (that's a whole different story), the ring was cut off.

Here's a picture after the damage:

The best part is I can still wear it until we can get it fixed. I don't know what Derk and I did to the river to make it hate us, but I know to NEVER wear my ring in it again!

5 Things

OK, so I now I have been a complete slacker at this whole blogging business. Here are 5 things to get you updated on our lives:

1. We went to Montana to see Tony's family. We had a good time hanging out. We went to see a place called 'Gates of the Mountains' on the Missouri River. Just imagine 1200 foot limestone cliffs rising straight up from the river. It was really amazing. Lewis and Clark explored the area and named it. Here is a picture of the "monster" of the mountains:

2. Cole's cousin Tate was blessed on the Sunday when we were up there. It was nice to have all of Tony's family together. Cole loves his three cousins and would laugh and smile when they played with him.

3. Tony is enjoying his last week of the regular work week. The State implemented a 10-hour, 4 day work week starting next Monday, August 4. Cole and I are going to miss not seeing him at lunchtime, and not going on late afternoon walks with him. On the plus side, he will be home all day Fridays so we can play!

4. If you ever want to grow potatoes on a big chunk of land in the middle of nowhere, head on up to Northeastern Idaho. This was the view on our way up to Montana:

That's right, folks. A whole lot of nothing (including other cars)!

5. And, last but not least, Cole has learned a new trick. He can pick things up and drop them intentionally! I know what you're thinking...so what? But it is really cute to watch. Here's a video of my ever-so-talented little boy. I apologize in advance for all the camera-shaking and for all the times I say "uh-oh". :) Here you go:

The Saga of the Grenade

As you can see, Cole LOVES his little grenade toy. His favorite thing to do is to pull the pin with his teeth and let it go (see above picture). Well, a few weeks ago, I noticed that his two little teeth were turning gray and black. Of course I freaked out, thinking he had a major case of baby bottle tooth decay. With some expert advice (thanks Kristin!) and some more freaking out, I took him to the pediatric dentist. The verdict: black stains from pulling on that dang grenade! The dentist scraped the stains off and polished his two little teeth. Now they are white and shiny! When we got home we said our last goodbyes to the grenade. Thanks to Kris, Cole now has an adorable alligator to chew on. The lesson? Don't ever give a grenade to your child!

A New Adventure!

OK, OK, I've finally done it! Everyone has been bugging me to get a blog, so here it is! No promises as to how exciting it will be, however. Thought I'd add a REALLY old but REALLY cute picture of Cole right after his bath. That towel is my favorite! Really, have you ever seen a cuter little bear?