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.

The Negotiator....

For Cole's 5th birthday, he got a 4-gallon BiOrb fish tank and got to pick out two fish for it. I had done intense research (of course) about the various tanks. I had to weigh in several factors including the major one which was the limited space he had in his room for it. I was drawn to the Baby BiOrb (the picture above is it but not Cole's specifically) for its aesthetic appeal and I had read a ton of reviews about its ease of cleaning which knowing I'd be the one responsible for this task sealed the deal. It had room for decorative features and a cool subtle nightlight which would allow Cole to watch his fish once lights were out each evening.

Gigi and Pop Pop were in town for his birthday and were witness to Cole opening up the box the day before to set the tank up and fill it to allow for the water to filter for 24 hours before bringing its new occupants home. We headed off to the pet store the next day and we learned a lot in 20 minutes about what types of fish worked well together, what ones didn't grow much, which ones did well in cooler water and which ones had a relatively longer life span. Cole picked out two Platys and named them Duggan and Scout (he couldn't come up with names so he asked mom for help. Both of those names were on our list when we tossed around monikers for Tucker years ago).

We allowed Duggan and Scout to acclimate and also set up a heater for the tank learning that the water had to be around 70 degrees. We keep our house 60-65 degrees during the day in the winter so not having a heater wasn't an option. Cole's new friends were bit sluggish the first 48 hours and I kept anxiously checking on them but the shock wore off and they were darting around by day 3. Cole was very excited to feed them each day.

Sadly on day 18 (3 days past the pet store warranty), I found Duggan at the bottom of tank. Duggan was fine at 4pm but not so by 6:30pm. I always thought deceased fish floated to the top and then learned that they sink initially. "Oh boy", I thought when the reality of the discussion that was forthcoming flooded my brain. I softly told Cole that something had happened to Duggan. The look on his face as he raced into his room brought tears to my eyes. I told him that Duggan had died and that we needed to get him out of the tank. He ran from his room, with tears running down his face. After putting Duggan in a cup, I went out to Cole to comfort him. He said he wanted to bury him and I explained that Duggan loved the water so it might be better to flush him. Cole yelled out "no, mommy, he'll go to where the poopy goes". I wasn't sure how to reply to that so I just said "well buddy, yes technically that is true but he'll eventually make it out to open water". We waited for Dave to come home and Cole didn't want to be there for Duggan's "ceremony" so quietly Duggan went.

I had told Cole that we could get another fish as he was worried that Scout was lonely. So we headed back to the pet store two days later. On the car ride over, Cole began peppering me with "hey mom, can I get two more fish?". I said "no, we just need to replace Duggan, okay". I could see him pondering my response carefully as I glanced at him in the rear view mirror. As we pulled into the parking lot, he pipes up "so, Mom, I think we need to get two more fish because what if Scout needs to take a rest and the new Duggan wants to play. If I had three fish then someone would always want to play. So what do you think about that!?"

We walked out with a "new" Duggan and his pal Henry. :-)

Twas the Night...

I love that Cole has embraced things about the Christmas season (other than the promise of gifts)that are more meaningful.

We started doing advent calendars when he was three and each year he gets so excited to hang it on the refrigerator and wake up each morning to open the daily "door". It is the FIRST thing he does for those 24 days.

He also is enamored with the magic of our Christmas tree and much like me, loves to turn off the house lights and sit in the chair admiring the simple white lights of our tree. This year he was very much wanting to make his own ornaments and giddy to hang them.

During the holidays, we also find Christmas books and stories to read on our weekly trip to the library. This year we took out a fantastically illustrated edition of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". We began reading it days after Thanksgiving and by mid-December Cole knew the story verbatim. He wanted to "read" it to us each evening and one night as he began to recite in his lilting voice, I captured it on video.

Half a decade!!

My little pickle is growing up. He turned five on December 6. To think he has been in my life for half a decade is really quite astounding! The years certainly seem to be passing more rapidly than I can keep up with.

Cole had a great birthday weekend with a party at THE WORKS with 8 of his friends; this place was a hands-on kid's engineering museum for his age group. GIGI and POP POP were in town for the fun as well as for his birthday fete at Montessori and birthday dinner at Salut, sparklers and all! Cole got a 4-gallon fish tank and some new friends for it as his gift from us.

It was a terrific few days of celebrating. He is already talking about his party "when I turn six". As a kid you always want time to go faster, as a parent, all I want is for time to slow down.

Farmer's hours...

Cole has ALWAYS needed less sleep than the average kiddo. He has his great grandpa Roger's genes it seems! As far back as his wee early days, Cole has just been go go go! He had colic for four months and would cry all day, luckily my only saving grace was that he did crash hard when he finally decided to and to this day this holds true, he goes full throttle and then BAM.

He has also ALWAYs been an early riser. From ages 15-32 months, he was up between 4-4:30 am every morning! Dave and I tried everything but Cole was awake and ready to start his day. We took turns getting up with him so the other could sleep, however, after years of this schedule, my brain is now hardwired to Cole's hours and despite my body's desire to crawl back into bed, my brain is firing at the same crazy hour. Cole at five years old still arises all chipper and wanting to play way before the sun comes up, it is an odd morning when we get beyond 6am.He dropped naps altogether around 3 years old though without fail he will still fall asleep in the car in the late afternoon and on the boat, the motion lulling him into dreamland.

As for bedtime, that has always been a bit of a struggle as well despite a structured routine. He just can't get his mind to slow down. After quiet time reading books for 15 minutes each evening he is still revved up. He moves and shifts and kicks and is in and out of the covers and rolling this way and that way. We can hear him shuffling around and have to typically lay with him for some time to ensure he settles down.

One night recently, he came out into the hallway and says to me with exasperation "mom, how do I make my head sleepy?" As I scooped him up with his tired eyes he goes "I counted sheep like it said in my book but I got to a hundred million already".

I know someday I will be beating on his door to wake him up as he misses the school bus, sleeping as a teenager will but until then, my little farmer remains.

I'm thankful for...

We have been talking to Cole about being thankful for all the things he has in his life and attempting to get him to grasp that many kids his age don't have food and a house let alone a playroom full of toys. It is a lot to ask of a 5 year old to comprehend anything other than what is "normal" to him but it is important that we try. He is learning about gratitude at Montessori school as well.

So each night before bed, I've been asking him about the things he is grateful for. At first he was like "I don't know..." but with just a little prompting, he picked five things the first night. We repeated those things the next night and then I told him that we would choose ten things the following evening. We then repeated those ten things after reading books the next night and moved onto fifteen working our way up to 20 things.

He was excited about his list and yet I didn't want it to become a game so I reminded him why he was being asked to grow his list every other evening. Two days before Thanksgiving Cole came down with the stomach flu and as I laid with him the first night between bouts of vomiting, he turned to me in his weakened state and said "mom, I'm not very thankful that my tummy is sick." I hugged him close and agreed.

Here are the things that made Cole's "20 Things I'm Grateful/Thankful For" List:

Daddy
Mommy
Tucker
My toys
My friends
Max (his new sea lion stuffed animal)
Target Field (where the Twins play)
Airplanes
Our trip to Oregon and San Francisco
My books
Chocolate milk
Mac N Cheese
Hugs
Tickles
Daddy's big phone
Bubble Baths
Talking to Daddy on the phone when he is away
Snow
My boots
Smiles

Inaugural sled ride of winter 2011-2012

This will be our FIFTH winter season here in Minnesota. We have acclimated pretty well and have a closet full of down jackets and a wardrobe of boots to prove it. I've learned to purchase snowpants, hats, gloves, heavy socks and long underwear in late summer since winter tends to arrive quickly and without much notice. I was prepared this year when the flurries began to fly. We had our first decent snow mid-month and Cole couldn't wait to hit the sledding hill near our house. The ground is barely covered in the video below but for a few scant inches but in two months it will be covered with feet of snow. Another long winter looms but we certainly will make the most it, that is what Minnesotans do!

Cole quotations...

Cole continues to charm us with his "collectible quotes" as I call them. Here are some that I have written down from the past several weeks!

As Dave and Cole are goofing around "wrestling" on the couch, Dave goes in for the sneak tickle attack; between bursts of laughter, Cole blurts out breathless "Daddy stop tickling me, I don't want to run out of giggles".

Cole often uses the word "actually" especially when pointing out something I've been incorrect about (which is subjective of course :-)) such as stating "actually mom, you said that I only had to eat some of my cheese" which is a literal interpretation when I said exasperated as I glanced as his plate after 30 minutes and saw 75% of his food remaining "Cole, please eat some of your cheese". I guess I "actually" should have told him "Cole, please eat your entire cheese stick".

When I realized that Cole was somehow wearing more chocolate pudding than I think went into his tummy, I laughed and said "what happened here, did the pudding explode?". With comedic delivery and a wry smile he looks at me and then at his shirt and the back of his hands and goes "huh, how did the pudding walk all over me!?"

Lately, Cole has taken to saying the following when he is very excited about something "I can't even hold my breath anymore".

Oregon...

The three of us got to head out to the left coast earlier this month for a short visit with G'ma Tootie, G'pa Fox, Great G'ma Coleson and of course the menagerie at the Fox Farm. It is rainy season but we were lucky to see the sun peek its head out several times. The Pacific Ocean and its rocky coastline never disappoints no matter the weather.

I thought for this post, I would just write in a fashion similar to a stream, where I just let the memories of this trip dribble out and flow along.

Pretzels and cookies for an excited Cole at Delta Sky Club; seeing the snow over the Bitteroot Mountains from high above; meeting the Hood family on the concourse at Portland Int'l as they headed east; G'ma Tootie's snack bag for our road trip; lunch at the air museum on the long ride down to Seal Rock; the hundreds of logging trucks; a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean then BAM there it is, memorized again by its rugged beauty; Violet and Cole becoming fast friends; Lily petrified of her new young guest; G'ma Tootie's treasure chest of goodies for Cole; visit #1 with G'ma Margie; lunch at Rogue Brewery; Cole feeding Coach the rabbit; walk on the beach exploring tide pools and having the rising tide get Cole wet; driving over the bridge in Newport and seeing the HUGE NOAA ships; the barking seals on the docks; the fishing boats in the harbour; lunch down in Waldport at the dive bar; the burn pile at the farm started just as it began to pour; making a tractor cake; happy dances; first sleepover for Cole, first night alone for Dave and I in five years; fancy dinner then breakfast along the harbour front; a walk through the Oregon Coast Aquarium (watched MAX the sea lion get fed); visit #2 and lunch with Great G'ma Coleson; good-bye to the coast and our loved ones; back on the plane heading home.