Life and Times of Cole Plaster

Coleman’s third Christmas was a lot of fun because now he has a better understanding of what Christmas is about. He heard the story of Baby Jesus a few times, but probably has a better understanding of Santa since Santa produces real results.
Coleman amazes us every day with the words that come out of his mouth. I wish I could remember one good story, and since I can’t, I’m thinking I may need to start righting them down.

Cole’s big present from Santa was a blue truck that he can drive. Santa was silly to bring it into the house since it’s really an outside toy. Our vacant lot next door is perfect for Cole to perfect his driving skills.

I have a wonderful moment holding my two babies, who by the way didn’t wake up until after 7:00 a.m.

Video: Coleman gets Buzz from Santa

Video: Coleman looks in his stocking
Cole got a firetruck that will pump real water. We haven’t actually told him that it can do this yet.

Coleman loved helping everyone open their presents at Grandma Wendy’s.

See what a big helper he is? (Thank you Mari for taking such great pictures!)

Coleman shows some love to Granny Gigi.

We traveled to Meridian for Thanksgiving this year, and Cole loved every minute of it. He was a really good traveler, even when we arrived in Birmingham at 11:00 p.m. and didn’t get to Meridian until 2:00 a.m. He impressed everyone with his superior language skills, good manners, and potty training.

Cole enjoys some cereral in his new kitchen.

Cole hangs out with his sister at the airport.

Cole and Daddy after a fantastic Thanksgiving meal.

Cole had a blast running around at Todd and Kim’s party. This picture was taken after he had a piece of cake and a brownie. He was so wired and so happy. Brian had a very hard time getting him to sleep that night.

Cole gives Madi a final hug before heading to the lake house before an early morning flight. His sweater vest and striped button down were provided by Grandma Wendy. I wonder if she’ll be buying him clothes for the rest of his life like his Daddy? (I’m definitely NOT complaining!)

Group hug with Pop and Madi!

When Brian upgraded his iPhone, we thought it’d be great to have a phone for Cole so that we wouldn’t have to share our phones with Cole. Big mistake!!!!! He now begs for his phone constantly. He uses it to watch Blues Clues, but probably spends just as much time playing games and drawing pictures/coloring. We are limiting his use, but it’s been a constant struggle for the last week. It’s pretty interesting how quickly he picks things up on that phone. I guess this means we’re going to have to give Gabby an iPhone too.
Cole enjoys a good book while on the potty. In the new house he’ll have his own flushing toilet that is about the same size as the potty here.

Cole on his phone at the new house. He’ll soon be sleeping in a big boy bed. I doubt this will make our life easier because it’s starting to be quite difficult getting him to go to sleep.

Hamming it up. And yes, it is lucky to be him!

This is the best picture I have of the two of them. Too bad I didn’t get the towels out of the way because after I moved them, Gabby wouldn’t stay still for the picture.

Cole is now fully potty trained. I quit buying pull-ups and then he had no choice but to go to the potty. His first time was at the condo. Brian and I were elated. I felt like letting him jelly beans for a week! He’s had no accidents since then except for peeing in his sleep, which is no biggie because the mattress is covered in plastic.

Cole also has a new favorite word - idiot. I at first blamed myself since I do throw that word around a lot. Then I heard Lightning McQueen say it on Cars and decided he was to blame, not me! Regardless, Cole likes to call us all idiots, which at first bothered me, and we’ve tried all kinds of things to make him stop. None of them worked. We are now planning on riding it out because I’m sure it will eventually pass. The one lesson I learned is that I shouldn’t have made an issue of him using the word (like I did when he’s said at least three curse words) because the moment I acknowledged it, he’s said “idiot” daily.

Finally, Cole surprised me this week when he picked up on my emotions. I can’t remember what happened, but I rolled my eyes and let out a big sigh, and Cole said “Mommy, what’s wrong?” Yikes! I’m pretty sure I heard him let out a big sigh recently when he was frustrated, so I guess I’m about to get what’s coming to me!

Cole met Aunt Jillian’s new dog two weekends ago. It’s a bulldog/basset hound mix. He’s being called little puppy until they find a winner from the name-the-dog contest they are having on their Web site (Good Dog Food Company).

Cole, Gabby and I took a rare family photo.

Cole can still wear the pajamas I bought him over a year ago!

Cole had his choice of six muffins when Mari came over, and he chose the chocolate one. He is definitely my son!

We usually get a good picture when we tell him to wave at the camera.

After his muffin, Cole enjoyed watching movies on his iPod, and Lucy enjoyed watching him.

Video: Cole talks to me while in his high chair

Ever since Cole played on the fire engine at the Denver Children’s Museum, he’s been saying that he wants to go see a fire engine. So, being the great mom that I am, I called the Fire Chief, and he arranged for us to visit last Friday afternoon. Cole’s reaction wasn’t quite what I expected. He was a little intimidated. Seeing real fire engines isn’t quite the same as playing on a scaled down version. I’m sure we’ll go back when he’s a little older.

Cole was happiest behind the wheel.

He didn’t want to hang out in the fire boots for long. Here he is with Chief Gammon, who gave him a pin, helmet and a baseball cap. Cole racked up!

On the back of the truck.

Taking it all in.

Watching a firefighter come down the pole.

Great things happened on our trip to L.A. last weekend (not counting Cole’s many meltdowns!). Cole pooped in the potty for the first time in months, and I’m certain that we’ve finally turned the corner. It really is great to have one of the kiddos out of diapers. Here Cole, Gabby and Daddy are at a local L.A. brewery near Little Tokyo.

Cole took his first family camping trip last week and spent time in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. He loved sleeping in the tent and also loved how many movies he got to watch both in the car and at our campsites. He must have watched Cars and Wall-E at least five times each. While Cole seemed to enjoy much of the trip, he was also thrown off by our complete departure from his typical schedule. He often said that he wanted to go home, and then the day came when it was time to go home, and he said that he didn’t want to go home. I guess this is all part of being 2 years old!

Family photo at the Grand Canyon. Brian’s fear of heights + Cole running around = a very nervous parent.

Cole got messy with his chocolate ice cream cone.

Cole and Daddy at the Meteor Crater.

Cole enjoying cereal at the Santa Fe campground.

Cole channeled his pent-up energy into throwing rocks at the Arkansas River.

Cole said he wanted to ride a train, but then when we boarded this little train at the Royal Gorge, he was upset that he couldn’t drive the train.

After visiting the Children’s Museum in Denver, he now thinks he should be able to drive a fire truck as well!

He loved playing like he was shopping at the grocery store.

Cole gave us a little taste of his whining abilities while we stayed at the Donovans.

Video: Cole whines

I had great hopes that Cole and Liam, who is almost five years old, would love each other. I was wrong. Liam didn’t even want to take this picture!

Cole generally liked to boss Liam around. I was suprised Cole didn’t have more respect for an older kid. I guess he just needs to get a little taste of what an older kid can do to him and then he’ll come around.

Cole actually does what we ask and takes a picture with his sister. Cole liked to tell Liam “That’s MY sister!”

Cole made the hike up the hill to see one of the arches at the Arches National Park.

A rock formation at the park.

Cole just spent the past week in the South: 5 days in Meridian and 2 days in New Orleans. He had a big time in Meridian swimming in Pop and Madi’s pool, playing with the dogs, and having fun at their lake house. He slept in a big boy bed (twin blow up mattress) for the first time and loved it. One of the highlights of his trip was driving a boat in the lake after seeing Fourth of July fireworks. Too bad I didn’t have my camera with me. Pop and Madi did everything they could to make him feel at home, and they spoiled him like only grandparents can.

Cole loves Pop’s pool because it’s shallow enough for him to walk around.

Cole hangs with Uncle Paul at the lake house.

Cole fed some fish while we were at the lake.

And he fished for the first time. First you feed ‘em, then you catch ‘em!

On the way back to Meridian, Cole met his favorite Cars character - Mater. Notice that he is wearing a Cars t-shirt and a Cars swimsuit, and probably a Cars pull-up too.

I think he was a little scared at how big Mater was so Madi helped him climb up.

Our first day in New Orleans and Cole’s  highlight was eating Skittles in the Quarter.

Most of our trip revolved around food. Here he is eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

Cole and Daddy outside the French Market.

Cole walking in Daddy’s flip flops outside the B&B in Marigny.

Cole is too young to realize how good he’s got it, but I’m sure he’ll figure it out one day. He spends his days playing and swimming and then takes vacations with his parents when his whole life is practically a vacation! Last weekend we spent two nights at the Four Seasons for our 5th anniversary and then went to L.A. for two nights. I thought we were going to go to Disneyland on Tuesday afternoon, but then realized how foolish that would be with the summer crowds. We’ll probably try to do an overnight trip when Cole is a little older.

Cole fingerpaints for the first time. I should have made it happen sooner, but I didn’t feel like dealing with the mess.

Cole gets a ribbon after two weeks of swim lessons. He’s jellyfish status which means he’s comfortable putting his face in the water. Of course, I had to check what the next level was because I thought he was way more advanced than that! The next level is floating, which he won’t yet do, so I guess they have it right.

Cole couldn’t decide what he’d rather do - look at his ribbon or sniff his cherry scented goggles.

Cole tolerates Gabriella in his lap for about 60 seconds.

While we were staying in Aviara for our anniversary, we took a trip to Legoland. Cole really liked it, although he’ll probably enjoy it more when he’s a little older. On this ride he insisted on getting in the yellow (he says “lellow”) car.

Posing in front of a rhino made of legos.

Cole loves any vehicle that has a siren on it.

Yes, I think I will have a bite of your churro.

One last picture before we leave Legoland.

Cole likes to wear socks after his bath and sometimes refuses to wear pajamas. I plan to use this picture for blackmail when he gets older.

Cole started private swim lessons this week. The below videos aren’t incredibly exciting, but they’ll give you some idea of what his swim lesson is like. A lot of the kids are freaked out by the swim lessons and throw huge fits when it’s time to get in the water. I can tell Cole doesn’t understand what all of the fuss is about. He’s used to being dunked in the water.

Video: Day #1

Video: Day #2

Video: Day #3

Cole and I went over to the “new house” last week with Aunt Mari, who took pictures of Cole in the construction outfit she gave him. He was on his best behavior, and this may be the first time I’ve seen him actually pose for pictures. Next time we’ll have to get pictures of him in his bedroom.

Cole saw his first movie at the movies today - Up. It wasn’t in 3-D. I was disappointed at first, but it may be a blessing because it would have considerably raised his expectations of how great a movie can be. We took a picture to document the occasion.