I thought I would blog about some of Cole's more recent everyday moments...they don't pack a punch or stand alone as a entry but they do make up an ordinary day and thus are more of a gift in many ways than those bigger than life moments that are more easily recorded and remembered...


The past few months as Cole has gotten more and more and more and more verbal (yes, he could talk the ear off a salesman), it has led, I believe, to his latest developmental chapter of "pretend" play...he more than entertains himself for long periods of time, chatting away to his trucks, trains, stuffed animals, bath toys...he actually loves to lay on the floor and have a dialogue with his toys and I catch myself stopping to listen to his lilting little boy voice changing tone and inflection as he switches between his "characters". In the evening after stories and lights out, I often find myself sitting outside his bedroom on the hallway stairs wishing I could capture an audio of the nighttime routine he has with his various bedtime pals as he shares snippets of his day or memories that were made with them.

He has also taken to "hiding" from us...wanting us to find him as he escapes under a blanket/towel/comforter. Cole has always found refuge from unfamiliar faces by burrowing himself under pillows or a quilt so it is natural that this behavior has evolved into something of a game now! I think he just loves to POP out and try to scare us and the smile on his face makes the sometimes tiresome pursuit worth it in the end.

He sometimes takes my IPHONE, or a book and his little flashlight and creates a pup tent for himself. I enter the room to find the shape of a little ghost contentedly reading or playing games on the couch under his blanket. He has always been one to cover his face with a blanket when trying to go to sleep, which of course has always freaked me out. I would let him begin to nod off and then have to extricate the blanket gently tugging it safely from his head. To this day, he still does the same thing. Not but 15 minutes ago as he began his nap did I have to re-position his beloved blue blanket.

Cole has a lot of my stubborn independence which is a blessing and a curse. He wants to do much for himself which I give him kudos for, however that can and does drive me nuts. Everytime we get into the car, he wants to match up and snap the top latch on his carseat. His fine motor skills are put to use lining up the "puzzle pieces". When I am not in a rush, I can typically start the car, put the groceries in the back, and so forth but in a downpour or when we are late for something I just want to GO. Cole doesn't flip out about much but if I even attempt to manage this task for him, oh boy...same goes for shutting off the bathwater, getting "his" books off the reserve shelf at the library and getting soap to wash his hands (even when he can't reach it at a restaurant or store bathroom.)

There are so many little ordinary moments that fill in our days; I know these mini adventures tell their own tale and probably define who we are the most. I am most sure that these understated bits in a day are the ones I will miss most of all as Cole continues to change and find his way in this world.

Fine Art By Cole...

For most of the past two years or so, Cole's artwork strokes and scribbles mimicked the splatter like effect of Jackson Pollock.

Though in past months Cole has graduated to using more controlled and fine motor skills and thus his masterpieces have evolved as well. His shapes are more defined though maintain a visual subjectivity. His repetitive inclination gives his canvases a more realistic pattern although a skewed perspective. Thus I would now equate his artistic style as being more Picasso(esque).

He thoroughly enjoys a fresh blank page and often pauses before putting crayon/marker/paint to paper. Cole then in a frenzy colors and creates his vision and excitedly beckons Dave or I to "come and see what I did"

I have framed some of his earlier works for my home office, his bedroom and playroom while his more recent renderings can be found for all to see on our refrigerator where he likes to hang them then sit on the floor and turn them around to view them from different angles.

The "piece" I have include here reminds me of a pirate alien (or ghastly ghoul) with freckles and braces.

Cole's Quips

I keep a legal pad next to my work notebook so I can jot things down as I think of them throughout the day. I have a column for things of a personal nature, household to-do's, things to find out/research and an area dedicated to Cole "stuff".

There was a time when I could make a mental list, add and subtract from it, itemize, organize and prioritize it all within the confines of my head but alas, three plus years of interrupted sleep almost every night has taken its toll and the old noggin doesn't operate as it once did.

Anyway, I also keep a running tally of the entertaining, fascinating, witty and poetic things that Cole does and says these days. If I don't, the precious memory of the laugh or sigh they cause will indeed fade as if they never occurred so their documentation I have made a MUST. I am rarely at a loss as to what to BLOG about but now I have so many Cole "isms" that they far surpass my ability (or time) to write individual blog posts about each one. So I will share some of the shorter, less in need of an explanation Cole quips that have escaped his lips as of late.

Quote #1

Bedtime is always full of laughs and snuggles, we have always read numerous books before lights out, although NOW, Cole has begun reading to us, turning the pages, telling the story he sees (or remembers) which is a delightful change. For the past 42 months, I have without fail said to him "SWEET DREAMS, NIGHT NIGHT, I LOVE YOU" and given him a kiss. One night several weeks back, in a sleepy state, along with his reply of "I LOVE YOU TOO MOMMY", he softly says "SWEET NIGHT NIGHTS" and gives me the most innocent angelic smile. He has said that ever since, it is now our new way of ending the day.

Quote #2

Spring arrived much earlier than usual this year and we actually had a string of 90 degree days so we had to pull out the sprinkler to stay cool and help water our budding plants. Our neighbor has a sprinkler that works on a timer and is the old fashioned kind that makes the "JJJJTTTTZZZZ" sound as it makes its way back and forth across the lawn. Cole loves to watch and listen to it from our front door. One evening as he stood there for the better part of 10 minutes (anyone who knows Cole knows that not much can hold him in one place for more than 5), he turns to me as I worked on my computer and says "look mommy, Jesse's sprinkler is going in an ARC". As usual, I racked my brain trying to figure out where the heck he heard that term and dumbfounded that he used it in context. He floors us weekly with his growing vocabulary and direct use of it.

Quote #3

Cole loves to go to the mall. Obviously NOT to shop but to play at the indoor recreation area. Those who have cold winters know that these are grand to have to avoid cabin fever (or rainy days in the summertime). Obviously I won't just go to the mall without running an errand or two, and Cole knows the drill. We stop and find mommy "fill in the blank" when we first get there, then we go play, then we run the second errand, we then finish up by getting a soft pretzel then sitting in the atrium watching all the people walk by. The last time we made a trip to the mall, I had something to return which I did relatively quickly. Cole was anxious to get to the play area as he considered that return my "first" mommy errand. As we walked from Macy's towards the inner mall area, I kept glancing at racks looking for that always elusive perfect (insert shirt/dress/pair of jeans). Cole was getting annoyed at my slow pace and finally blurted out "mommy, don't find anything, it is my turn". I could only sigh and agree with him.

Houston, We Have a Problem...

A few months back I started a weekly ritual with Cole, Friday lunch out, just me and him. He has always LOVED eating out at restaurants and while his attention span for his first few years barely gave Dave and I a chance to actually savor a full meal (more like inhale it), it was nice for all of us to experience dining out on occasion. Now that Cole is old enough to sit and eat for at least most of his meal, it has become enjoyable to take him places. He still eats like a bird so I limit our lunches to places I know offer Mac-n-Cheese, Buttered Noodles or Grilled Cheese; in time I hope to branch out and expand beyond Perkins, Noodles and Co. and TGIFs.

So our Friday agenda typically is a relaxed morning, no rushing around trying to get out the door to beat the rush hour traffic on the way to Montessori. He knows that it is the start to his four day weekend (Mondays and Fridays he is home with me). We play, watch some Noggin, make cookies...then we head out to run errands. In the wintertime I can leave groceries in the car which is great because Minnesota is a meat locker from November-March. In the summertime, I plan errands differently, hitting Target or Byerleys after school instead and leaving none perishable errands to Friday mornings.

Okay, enough of the backstory. So today we found ourselves eating at Perkins. He knows the building as we pull off Route 7. Now some places offer 4 crayons with their kiddy placemat/menu, some a trio but at Perkins we sadly just get 2 in a packet (though we do get a big cookie with his meal which in my opinion makes up for the wimpy crayon offering). We place our orders and he has me open up the cellophane on the crayons.

I wait for him as we usually play "find the letter" on the "find a word" grid. He looks up at me with this tight lipped expression of annoyance and goes "we have a problem". I swear those words were spoken EXACTLY like an adult in tone/inflection. He proceeds to hold up the yellow crayon which shouldn't have passed quality control. The paper wrapping had adhered to high and was covering most of the point of the crayon. He looked at me as if to say "this is useless!". I hesitated at first because I didn't want to rip the paper from around the top if that was going to upset him and start a meltdown, so I asked him if he wanted me to fix it. He sighed (I swear) and said "ooookkkayy"...in a way that said "do I have a choice really?" So I tore at the paper and he happily began to color and write his name. I sat there still pondering his "we have a problem". Where do they learn this stuff? :-)