My little rock star...

When we returned from San Francisco last August, the band TRAIN came out with their hit tune "Save Me San Francisco". Cole went nuts every time it came on the radio and after several weeks, he was belting out the chorus. Over the course of several months, he memorized the various verses and would nearly shout out the ones that mentioned cable cars and the Golden Gate Bridge. By now he knows almost every word and loves to listen, sing and dance to it when I have my ITUNES playing. Thankfully his interpretation of the lyrics is slightly altered as in the song they say "oh hell no" while Cole's rendition goes "all hands roll". He can be a wee shy when the camera rolls but I was able to capture this video of him one afternoon when he didn't seem to have any stage fright. Enjoy!

Books, books, books

I have a true fear that as Cole makes his way through his school years that the warp speed of continuing advanced technology will make specific items that I grew up with as I walked the echoing halls of grade school obsolete. That said, I cannot and probably will never embrace e-readers and e-books. I understand their convenience and the long term savings involved but how can anyone contribute to an industry that might keep future generations from filling their bookshelves with BOOKS!!!?? I realize this might not be a "green" approach and that my perspective is quite conflicting with my love of majestic trees but I just can't wrap my head around a time when it could be possible to never turn a physical page; to sit in a child's room at bedtime and swipe an IPAD as one reads Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle or Shel Silverstein? No thank you!

I began taking Cole to the library back when he was learning to walk. Our local branch had storytime and though it was a melee of chaos with very little actually being heard, we did it regularly. As he got older, we frequented the kid's area and sat reading and doing puzzles. I began picking out books every other week for his preschool to give the teachers some fresh tales to share as I know how nuts I felt at times reading and rereading the same books for weeks/months when Cole found a favorite.

When Cole moved from the toddler side to the big boy side of Montessori, we began researching and choosing books that matched his monthly curriculum (countries, geography, people, cultures). Many times I reserve books online and he helps me find our number amongst the mass piles. Each and every week we have done this for almost four years.

At the start of the year, the library system updated their policies which limited the amount of books one could take out on one card. Since I also take out a significant amount of books, it was going to be near impossible to take those out, Cole's books and the ones we brought to school under the new and drastically reduced allowable count. I thought the age for getting a child a card was six but regardless I asked the friendly librarian we see so often. She said, "no, he can get one anytime with a responsible adult". Cole's eyes got big and he began jumping up and down at the prospect of having his own card! She took his information which he offered up (full name, DOB and address, mom supplied the phone #) and voila, she handed him his card to sign and a choice of colored holders for it. He was so ecstatic it simply made my heart sing! We filled our bag that afternoon and he checked those books out with his card with such pride and a beaming grin!

Every Monday when we head to Library Lane (yes that is their address), he puts his library card in his pocket and then I watch him in the rear view mirror quietly take it out and say the 15 digit # that is associated with it. I can't imagine not being able to lug a heavy bag of books out each week, stacking them in the basket by his bed and having him sit down each evening to pick two out for bedtime reading. I can only hope that his children someday will still be able to have that experience. If not, their grandma will have a huge stash of books in a box ready to stock their bookshelves!

Tick tock...buzz...

When we visited Oregon last November, we spent some time with Cole's great-grandma Margie. While Dave tinkered with her computer, Cole had to entertain himself in the small space as running around wasn't an option. I had brought some coloring books and he had Dave's IPAD but he keyed in on Margie's egg timer about five minutes after our arrival. As the crinkle of paper and the fascination of boxes are captivating to babies and toddlers, the distinct tick of the egg timer followed by its bellowing ring kept Cole's attention. After about 20 minutes of listening to it, Dave and I wanted to make it cease its "noise" however Cole had a different perspective. He has become quite the brilliant negotiator when attempting to make an argument for himself and after several requests from us to do something else followed by a more stern "that's enough!", Cole without a moment's hesitation says "but I'm learning how to count down my numbers" with a confidence in his voice. Indeed as the timer moved each minute, he would state the number it was on and then state the number that was coming up. Egg timers only show five minute intervals so he was having to think about the numbers in-between.

He continued to mention the egg timer once we came home and so I put it on my list to find as I thought it would be fun for him for specific activities such as brushing his teeth. I had trouble finding one as they have been replaced by digital versions. I even searched at SuperTarget which typically has everything and asked an associate thinking possibly it might be located elsewhere than in the kitchen area. "No, we don't carry those" she stated as Cole's face grimaced in frustration.

I figured I could order one on Amazon but got caught up in the course of life and just hadn't gotten around to it. One random afternoon, while picking up groceries at SuperTarget, Cole excitedly bursts out "Mom, mom, look!". There at the end of an aisle in the baking section hung a row of egg timers. The look on Cole's face was if we just saw a monster truck in produce. "Can we get one!?" he asked having already picked one out, tenuously ready to toss it in the cart. "Absolutely", I replied seeing how happy it made him.

As we walked around picking up the remaining items on my list, Cole looks at me and goes "Mom, the store lady was wrong, I think she needs more training. He had remembered the SuperTarget employee we had spoken to inquiring about the egg timer nearly six weeks prior. I laughed out loud and said "well, I think maybe you are right!".

He eats like a bird...

I'd have to go back through my previous year's posts but I'm pretty sure I've blogged about Cole's eating habits (or lack of them). He was a terrific eater as a baby but as soon as we transitioned him to table food, he balked and has been picky, selective and downright difficult to feed ever since.

It isn't for lack of trying as I cook often and attempt to have him take a bite of this and that. He abhors meat proteins of any kind leading me to believe he is a future vegetarian though thankfully he will eat eggs and cheese. Honestly, I think it is a texture thing with him just to a drastic degree. He doesn't like fibrous foods, think meats and some vegetables. If they have a crunch, we are okay but if they take more than a few chews to break down, he doesn't want any part of it. Luckily, he drinks nearly 3 gallons of milk each week, so he gets plenty of protein, it just isn't as varied as I would prefer it be.

He doesn't have a sweet tooth either; sure he likes the occasional Tootsie Pop, cupcake, ice cream cone or handful of M&Ms but he typically at birthday parties forgoes a piece of cake!! He refuses to drink any kind of juice. Chocolate and sweet treats are easily accessible in our pantry and yet, he'll choose an apple over them. For this "quirk", I'm grateful for as I hope he'll avoid cavities since he freaks out at the dentist as is.

He is wiry and thin but all muscle. He looks like a wee ballet dancer or gymnast. He goes full tilt with an energy level off the charts; needs less sleep than most; is happy and charming and is quite brilliant if I may so, which I will.

Maybe eating like he does, though it gives me agita, is really the way we should all be eating!? I do hope his palate branches out someday and I will encourage that by introducing him to bites of things but as long when he eats, he continues to eat healthy like he does, I really can't and don't wish to force him to eat foods that he doesn't want nor in portions that are probably out of proportion. Considering our country is drastically overweight, I really think he is on to something that his body innately is telling him and that we as adults have stopped listening to.