Observations....

As 2008 comes to a close I can't help but be amazed as I peruse my journal from this past year. Since Cole's birth, I have kept bi-weekly observations about him, his growth, milestones, behaviors and emerging personality & character quirks in a special notebook. It has been important to me (much like my reason for maintaining this BLOG) to capture in print (or cyberprint) the everyday moments that so easily slip from my memory as weeks meld into one another. I wanted to be sure to honor who he was as an infant and a young toddler as I know I will not remember the little things five years from now that Dave and I currently find so fascinating about our lil guy.

Some of my remarks make me laugh out loud as they bring instant recall such as "has a staccato laugh, he sounds like a dolphin" (13 months); "babbles with what seems to be an European inflection in his voice, nods his head as he speaks" (14 months); "prefers to walk backwards and back into your lap" (14 months); "sits on bottom step of stairs and seems to ponder" (15 months); "mountain goat as a nickname is most fitting at this time" (15 months); "blows spittle and sucks it back in and laughs" (16 months); "Houdini has figured out how to undo the safety latches" (17 months); "future racecar driver as he LOVES to sit in the JEEP (while parked in the garage) and "drive" (17 months); "saying "TRUCK" repeatedly for anything with wheels" (18 months); "scared of thunder, the bathroom exhaust fan and Tucker's barking" (19 months); "puts paper of any kind in the toilet and flushes" (20 months); "finally enjoying books" (20 months); "broke his arm at Montessori, what an ordeal" (21 months); "made his TV debut on the PIC ME show on Noggin" (21 months); "using 2-3 word sentences with conviction despite the fact that we don't have a clue as to what he is saying" (22 months); "moved to big boy bed, so sad to see crib go" (22 months); "excitedly states "I DID IT" when he completes something" (23 months; "loves to give kisses and has become a snuggler as never before (23 months); "has mastered opening the refrigerator door" (24 months); "talking in slang already spouting out "YEP" (24 months)

I used words such as spirited, fearless, curious, and determined again and again as I read through my notations, words that consistently continue to define him as he enters his third year!

As Cole takes on bolder and more adventurous endeavors on his whirlwind tour of life, the realm of possibilities are endless as he leads us down his own path. Who knows what 2009 holds for him (and us) but I will make sure to continue to document his journey so that one day he will have a time stamp and first hand account of his life seen through his mother's eyes.