So Big! Life with One-Year-Old Cole

2009-09-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

This kinda looks like an LL Bean ad to me.

World's Largest Boot!

2009-09-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

On the Farm

2009-04-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today Team Schwabel headed out to the Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista, MN. I've always been curious about this place and it turned out to be wonderful.

Gale Woods Farm is a former working farm that was given to the state in 2000. Since then, the Three Rivers Parks District updated the farm as a visitors site. There's a great big barn with lots of animals and biking, hiking, and canoe access.

Unfortunately, the barn doesn't open until May 1st, but we beat the crowds and had the baby animals all to ourselves. Cole spent the afternoon petting baby lambs that were a month old and looking at Alice, a week old calf. He also got pecked on the finger by an angry rooster which he did NOT like.

We spent some additional time hiking a 2.5 mile loop that overlooks pastures and animal enclosures. Cole sang to us the whole way - and it was fantastic.

Our Trip to the Farm

2009-04-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, um, Sticky!

2009-04-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

So Cole is an eating machine lately. This morning, he had two bottles, a smoothie, some orange juice and four mini waffles over 90 minutes. Granted, Cole's food consumption typically is only about 60-70% of what's in front of him (except for bottles), but that's still a lot of food.

So, this evening, it should come as no surprize that Cole is hungry. After two large oranges and a snack pack of edamame, he was finally full. And SUPER sticky. This mostly has to do with how Cole eats an orange. As I was telling Dave, it most resembles a vampire and his prey.

Cole doesn't actually eat oranges. Rather, he sucks all of the juice out and leaves behind the pulpy flesh. In the process, he becomes the stickiest child ever.

This evening it only took three baby wipes and lots of cute giggles to clean him off and get him ready for bed. We will see what tomorrow brings!

Fun in the Sun

2009-04-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

Today, Cole and I headed out to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. We had a blast! Cole loved the monkeys (who were in fine form today) and spent quite some time following them around and squeeling.

The rest of the zoo didn't excite him as much, but he had a great time in the sensory play room. Cole donned a zookeeper's apron and carried around plastic food - meant to feed the fake animals, but in Cole's mind, great for holding!

New Year, New Blog

2009-04-23T17:57:00.001-07:00

So, we kind of started to suck at the whole blog thing towards the end of Cole's first year. This happened for a variety of reasons:

1. Cole got to be a lot more curious and, therefore, a lot more work
2. We started a whole bunch of time consuming home improvement projects
3. I really don't have much time during the day to blog and Dave's on his computer a lot at night (that's where we store pics) so I don't get online to post photos that much
4. We're really really lazy

To fix this situation, I've decided to start uploading photos from our mini camera that I keep in our diaper bag to my computer. So, the photos won't be quiet so good, but there will be a lot more content. And, I've decided to put blogging back on my to-do list so more of our friends and family can keep in touch with us and watch Cole grow (somedays, truly before your eyes!)

Birthday

2009-03-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

Dad's Hat

2008-11-09T17:06:00.000-08:00

Prunes

2008-11-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

Leaves

2008-10-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Apples!

2008-10-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

We visited Afton Apple yesterday.

In the Yard

2008-09-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

Waylon and Cole

2008-09-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Cole and my friend Mollie's son Waylon. Waylon just joined the world on August 1, 2008 - hence the size difference. (Cole isn't a giant, I swear!)

6 Months

2008-09-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

"Solid" Food

2008-07-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Cole had his first taste of solid food tonight. Mmmm... rice cereal!

Hangin' Out on the Deck

2008-07-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

Lake Elmo 4th of July Parade

2008-07-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Cole and Sarah participated in Lake Elmo's 4th of July parade today. I remember seeing babies in strollers last year and thinking to myself "that will be us next time."

Cole's First Wedding

2008-06-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

On June 14th, Cole, Dave and I attended my brother Jeff's wedding. Not only did Cole get a new aunt, Amy, but he also got to meet his family in Milwaukee. Here are some of our favorite pictures...

The whole family...amazingly all in one shot.

Mom and Uncle Jeff...

Making our grand entrance...

Cole with cake...wondering if cake can be fed via bottle...

So Big!

2008-06-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Cole turned three months old. It's hard to imagine it's been three months already, but Cole is getting so big. Here are some neat facts about Cole...

1. Cole is very tall! He's in 6-9 month clothing
2. He's super smiley. He loves to flash a big grin when we're out in public and the ladies all eat it up.
3. He loves to play airplane with Mom and Dad. He just keeps grinning while he flies through the air.
4. He can laugh! Cole gave us his first big hearty laugh last Sunday. It's the best sound in the world.
5. Cole's found his hands, feet, and Archie!

A womb with a view

2008-05-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

One of my lucky finds has been the "Happiest Baby on the Block" white noise cd. I found it at our local library (free = even better!) Every night, we put Cole to sleep to "rain on a tin roof". Last night, when Cole started crying uncontrollably due to overstimulation, we put on "womb noises for a crying baby". Today, he's sleeping soundly to "womb noises for a calm baby"

I guess you can get a womb with a view!

Riley and Cole

2008-05-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Dave's honorary "brother" Riley the dog sat down with Gramma Kendra to get to know Cole better. You have to wonder what Cole thinks of Riley considering he's 75 pounds and coverered with fur.

Taking after Momma Bear

2008-05-28T17:27:00.001-07:00

Cole seems to have inherited his Grandma Pauline's trait of sticking his tongue out when he's hard at work. Apparently, Grandma inherited it from her dad, so Cole must have a little extra Gulczynski blood in him!