Caleb and Jill's visit

I had been looking forward to Caleb, Jill, and Bella's visit for so long because 1) we love getting to see them whenever we can, 2) I wanted to see Jill's baby bump, 3) Cole loves playing with Bella and so many other reasons! So, I was so bummed when Cole and I got sick just as they were getting here. But Caleb and Jill were so sweet and took great care of us! Jesse and Caleb got to go to the Muse concert together, but other than that, we mostly hung out at home and still had a GREAT time! Love you guys!!

An early celebration for Jesse and Jill's birthday (April 28th)

Cole hugging Bella :)

20 weeks... it's a BOY!

Lookin' good!

The "Mess" book

Cole's favorite book lately is Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (lovingly known as the "mess book"). It came highly recommended from a friend who claims that her child will sit and look at it independently for 30 mins! Well, we aren't to that stage yet... Cole's got too much to see and do to sit for extended periods of time! haha!

But the thing I love about this book is that is a great opportunity for language. As a want-to-be speech pathologist, I am always looking for ways to expand Cole's vocabulary and engage him in toddler conversations. It is amazing to see how his language has gone through such a burst in the past 2 months. One day, his longest phrase was "more juice please". And then it seemed like in a few short weeks it progressed to things like, "Where are you mommy?" and "Look at that!" WOW! To me, this is major... in my work with children with autism, I came to understand that "wh" questions are the building blocks for conversation. With so many of my autistic kids, we trudged through program after program for them to even get to the point where they can answer "wh" questions, let alone ask them! And so that is why I stand amazed that my sweet 26 month old son has learned to do it all by himself. I am constantly thankful for each milestone that Cole reaches and feel even more empathy for parents of children with disabilities that have to work so hard for each minor step.

Life at the park

On Saturday, we ventured to our neighborhood park for a Easter egg hunt. It is amazing that it takes so long for children to clean up their toys, but in a matter of minutes, hungry toddlers can clear a field of candy! So, I should have know from experience that you have to arrive early to these events if you don't want to walk away empty handed. Well, we arrived late and it seemed as though Easter had come and gone already. So, we walked to our favorite crepe restaurant downtown and then back to the park for some play time on our way home.

We have lived here almost a year and it is amazing to watch Cole play at this park and see how much he has grown and developed. Being a kid who doesn't love getting dirty, he used to avoid the sandbox like the plague. But now, he is super confident and has learned how to balance his urge for cleanliness with his urge to explore. We used to climb on all the equipment with him, even having him sit in our laps to go down the slide. Now he is able to navigate it (mostly) by himself and squeals with delight as he whooshes down the slide by himself. He used to be unaware of any other children at the park, but now he seeks others out (especially preschool-aged boys) and is learning how to join them in playing. Ah, life at the park...

Cole and Daddy getting "messy" in the sandbox

"I love to slide!! I'm a big boy!"

Cole has a recent fascination with bugs... at home, we examine every (and I mean EVERY!) ant and beetle on the driveway :) Here Cole found a spider that decided to play on the ladder. As a entomophobe myself, I try REALLY hard to play it cool and not pass on any fears that I have. I try to talk about how interesting the bugs are! I do believe they are interesting, as long as they keep to themselves! haha!

Growing up...

Our little man :)