More Easter

I think Easter is officially my favorite holiday, it represents Hope and the Atonement and everything that makes life meaningful and I love the opportunity that the holiday gives me to focus on that. It was so much fun to decorate last night, knowing that it would make the kids happy to wake up and see something out of the ordinary in the kitchen. I was hoping this would help set the tone of good moods for the day and it did...

Not my favorite picture, but getting the two of them in a picture together is pretty difficult and I wanted to document the day and this is all I have, so here it is...

Randomness and A Little Bit of Easter

This little corner of the couch is Lola's favorite place in the entire house... Whenever she climbs in to it, she giggles to herself and gets a big smile on her face...

She loves it so much, she thought it would be nice to share it with her baby...

Cole loves cupcakes, just the frosting, but I thought it would be fun to help him decorate some for Easter... I LOVE being able to do things like that with him. His therapy has helped him so much to be able to follow some instructions...

It was very windy the other day and we were outside playing and Cole decided to run back inside to grab the kite he had made earlier that day in school... It is always amazing to see him make connections between things like the wind and getting his kite. It really is a blessing parenting a child with a disability... when you don't have any way of knowing what skills they'll be able to obtain and you see them make so much progress, it feels like you're a part of a miracle.

Lola easter-egg-hunted solo today. Apparently, Cole wasn't such a fan of the wind today, but Lola was quite the little pro. She didn't even have to be shown what to do, she just got the concept. Watching her develop is amazing! She is learning to talk and I am loving every minute of it. I remember waiting for Cole to start talking and he never really did, so every word out of her mouth fills me with so much hope.

Life As We Know It

Life with Cole is never dull... Sometimes I get so caught up in the whirlwind that is our daily life and I forget to take a step back and see how far we have come together. Having a child with autism is HARD, I would never deny that, but overall it is a blessing. For Cole's sake, I really wish I could take it away, but I know that he is who he is supposed to be and I am so grateful for all of the miracles that I get witness as he progresses.

This is about as close as playing together as these two get... but even this is major progress. For a long time Cole could not be in the same room as Lola without panicking, but the more predictable she becomes, the easier she is on Cole.

This is Cole on Christmas morning. This was the first year that he seemed at all aware that it was a special day. We had been building it up, telling him that Santa Claus was coming and that he would bring Cole cookies, because nothing gets Cole more excited than cookies... and when he saw the plate of cookies on Christmas morning, I think he made the connection I was trying to help him make.

He LOVES having family in town. He loves nothing more than a room full of people (adults- kids make him nervous), all paying attention to him, and family is definitely good for that. He particularly loved having Marcus in town over Christmas break... If you know Cole, then you know how amazing it is to see him this calm...

I love his face in this picture... I feel like it captures who he is. He is SO sweet and just wants to be good. His frustrations come from his difficultly understanding the expectations that other people understand innately. I am so blessed to have him and Lola in my life... I know that they are helping me become the person I was always meant to be. Life is good.

Lola

It's crazy to think that I haven't posted in a year! I was getting on to do a long overdue post, but I didn't realize it had been that long... Time flies I guess:) I thought this little girl deserved a post all her own. I am so glad that she came to our family. It is hard to picture life before she was around.

I love her face! She is so sweet... Sometimes I feel bad that she has it pretty hard in some ways, but I know that she was meant for our family. She has such a strong spirit and she is so full of life and personality. I love watching her emerge as she gets older...

One of her favorite past-times... exploring. She loves to play around the entertainment center and pull out dvds, empty full containers of wipes and use the tv stand as a teether. Lola loves to be busy and she wants me to do everything with her, so she keeps me busy too:)

This was taken on her first birthday... I love my little girl. She is such a gift!

7 Weeks

As of yesterday, this little girl is officially 7 weeks old, but it is already hard to remember what life was like without her. She loves tummy time, baths, clean diapers, hearing the sound of her brother's voice, (don't we all:) and sleeping in her dad's arms. Lola is so much different from Cole... It is so interesting to realize how particular babies are, even at such a young age. She doesn't seem to share Cole's love for music, which I thought all babies liked, but apparently that is not the case. Lately, I hear Cole singing to himself before he falls asleep. He takes tunes from songs he knows and throws in his own words. He also loves singing at church, the words aren't always decipherable, but he seems to know what he is saying. Therapy is going really well for him... he loves the people he works with and he is communicating a little bit more all the time. I am so grateful for the therapists and teachers that work with Cole... It is amazing how people who were strangers a few months ago, were able to come in and form a bond with Cole and help him in ways I was unable to. He is a lucky boy to have so many people that care about and love him.

She Is Here!

Lola Lynn was born at 5:04 pm on the 9th of February...

Here she is checking me out for the first time...

And I think she has decided that she likes me:)

She is so sweet and I am glad she is finally here! I cannot believe how much life can change in just 5 days. Cole is adjusting better than I expected him to, but I think it is just going to take him some time to get used to all of the newness.

First Day of School

A very tired Cole started school this morning... I cannot believe having him all to myself every day has already come and gone. I am very grateful though for the programs that our school district has and I know once he adjusts he will love preschool.

This is just another random picture from his birthday last week... I love his little face. I am so glad that he gets to start school before Lola arrives sometime in the next couple weeks... I really didn't want him to associate being sent to school with Lola. He is going to be such a sweet big brother. Lately he has been kissing my stomach and saying, "baby?" He is the best...

Happy 3rd Birthday

I had no idea how quickly this baby boy...

... would turn in to this little man. We have had such a good day together - the three of us ate lunch at McDonalds, played at Jump Planet, shopped at Target, played at the park, jumped off couches and ate homemade mac and cheese for dinner... all of Cole's favorite things. I say it all the time, but it is so hard to imagine life before Cole. Didn't I miss him? The last year has definitely been a challenging one, but I am so excited for all the things life has in store for Cole.

Leaves and Accessories

Cole loves to accessorize... His item of choice these days is this hat.  He loves to put in on when we're going to run errands, I think he knows how cute he looks in it... 

His other favorite is my sunglasses.  I bought him a pair of his own, but apparently he prefers the over-sized look.  

We have been really busy lately with therapy, and when we have been at home it has usually been raining, but today we had some rain-free down time, so we made the most of it.  Cole spent his time gathering leaves...

And tossing them up in the air... I am glad he loves leaves as much as I do.  There is just something about all things fall that I find cozy and calming...

Cole plotting his next move... He is rarely standing still, especially when we are outside, but he did pause for a moment after throwing leaves to decide where to go next... I love his face.  I cannot believe he is going to be a big brother in just over 3 months and he will also be starting preschool at the same time...  life as we know it is about to change forever.  Once he adjusts, I know he is going to love having a little sister.  We are naming her Lola after Cole's favorite cartoon character.  3 months feels like forever in terms of being miserably pregnant, but I know the time is going to fly by, so I am trying to make the most of the rest of our alone time.  

Cheese

Cole has become quite the little poser over the last couple of days... he will bring me my camera and start saying "cheese..." and wait for me to take his picture.  I love it, because I am finally able to get a bunch of shots of him smiling.

I love this picture, because it is obvious he is trying really hard to keep still and pose and holding still is pretty rare for him...

He kept wanting me to take pictures of his belly... so I am putting this one on here, because I am pretty sure it is what he wanted.  Who wouldn't want to flaunt that cute belly?

My boys, "cheesing" together... 

Spring Sunshine

Spring has been so much nicer to us this year than it was last year... Cole and I have been able to go to the park just about everyday and he is loving all of the outside time.

On Saturday we went to the U Village... we had never been there before... I am in love with that place.  Not only does it have just about all of my favorite stores, but it is in the prettiest part of Seattle and close to some really amazing old houses that I loved driving past.

This is Cole expressing his excitement at getting to be a big brother.  We are expecting baby Bergam #2 this winter and we couldn't be more excited.  Life is good...

Comfortable

Cole loves to fall asleep on his floor, so every night I go into his room to move him to his bed... but last night, when I saw this little arrangement he had made for himself, I could not bring myself to move him.  I love how deliberately he placed the pillows all around himself... He has been a very busy little guy lately... Two weeks ago he started pre-preschool and he is loving it.  On school days, when I tell him where he is going, he gets very excited and runs down the stairs to leave... It is hard to be away from him but at the same time I try to make the most of the free time that it gives me. 

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...