What We Have Been Up To...

Yesterday we celebrated Sean's 26th birthday... It wasn't that different from every other day, since it was Sunday, but Cole and I tried to spoil him by making his favorite foods and making sure that he didn't have to change too many diapers:) We tried to take a serious family picture to document the occasion, but since Cole was content on making silly faces, Sean and I decided to join him.

Cole has perfected his Aunt Brittany's smile... for any of you who read my blog and knew Brittany when she was a little girl, this smile will look very familiar to you...

I love the content look on his face in this picture... lately, he loves to play with his animals and he always makes them run around mid-air...  I have tried to teach him different animal sounds, but he seems to think that all animals growl...

And he has been learning his letters... if you look at his lips in this picture, you can see that he is saying the letter 'A'...

He started swimming lessons today and I was thrilled with how much he enjoyed the water.  Until now, he had pretty much zero pool experience, so I was nervous about how he was going to do, but he did not want to get out of the water when the lesson was over, so I am taking that as a sign that he loved it.  It is insane how much he seems to change from week to week now that he is 2.  We have also started lessons at The Little Gym, but I don't have any pictures of that, since cameras aren't allowed there... but he loves climbing around there on all of the mats and toys that they have.  It is definitely a challenge keeping him busy every day, but I am finding out that there are a lot of fun things to do with him around here and that is making it a lot easier.

4 Years Ago...

It is crazy how much we have grown together over the last four years... I cannot think of anyone else I would rather have by my side to go through all the ups and downs of life with.  

This is Cole Attempting to Pose for the Camera

Every time I told him to say cheese, he would throw his arms back and strike this pose.  I am not sure what look he was going for, but at least he was consistent. 

I Am Glad He Is Here

I cannot believe Cole has already been with me for 2 years!  Labor was a nightmare, as is evidenced by my appearance, but I love this picture, because it is of the first time I held him and I love the look in his little eyes...

When Cole turned 1, I thought he seemed so huge, but now looking back he seems so small... 

Maybe that is because of how much he has grown in the last year... It seems like Cole has wanted to be 2 for quite some time and he is already almost too big for his size 2t clothes.  Two years has flown by, but at the same time it is weird to think that I ever had a life without Cole.  Sometimes I look back at the years before I had him and it seems strange to me that I didn't miss him then.  I love my little guy...

Long Week

This is the face of a very sick boy...  Cole has had a crazy bug for a little over a week now and I think he is about as fed up with being sick as I am with washing throw-up laundry.  

But he is never too sick to stare at himself in the mirror... This is an easy way for me to get ready for the day... I let him play with water and sit on the counter next to me... it works every time:)

Please ignore the mess in the background, but I wanted to show how Cole has been tromping around the house in these rain boots... I think they are the cutest shoes ever.

On a Particularly Fussy Day...

... I love to unload all of these balls in the guest room and let Cole go crazy...

It is amazing how quickly something so simple can turn his day around...

...and even now, an hour later, I can hear his laughter spilling out of that room.

First Date

Friday night I got to go out on a date with my favorite person... it was the first "baby-sitter" date we have ever been on.  It was weird, but relaxing to be out and about with just the two of us... I am so in love with him...