The Coles Family Gallery

Picture pages, picture pages, lots of fun with picture pages...
We just got back Oliver's 6 month photos from the photographer this weekend (well, they were supposed to be 6 month pictures, but by the time we actually got them scheduled, it was 2 days before he turned 7 months). He is the boy of 1,000 faces, so I picked out just a few of his many looks for all of you to enjoy. His cute little personality is really starting to come out these days. Everytime I pick him up from daycare, one of the Stepping Stones gals tells me how smiley he is all the time. It makes me feel good to know he is so happy there.
Oh, and we are supposed to get a foot of snow in two days.  Sigh. Two weeks until Matt and I are off to Mexico for a friend's wedding!

A Mad Grab

We've had three snow days in the past two weeks. I am so sick of this white stuff and it's only January! Of course, b/c of all the snow, I've had more time to spend with Oliver, just hangin' out. What I have learned of late is that we have run out of toys to keep a 7.5 month old entertained for more than two minutes. He is now too big/old for the swing, the bouncy seat, and the activity gym-mat. Yikes! Looks like Babies-R-Us will be getting even more of our money here shortly.
Hanging out has been alot of fun, though, and it's given Oliver a chance to test out the hands-on way to say "hey look, Mom/Dad, what's that?" Coffee cups, computers, oatmeal bowls, green bean containers, eye glasses, socks, diapers, remote controls, lip gloss, etc., etc., etc. You name it, he'll grab it. The good part is that he doesn't get mad at all yet when you take something out of his reach, b/c there is always something else right there to grab at instead! His life is one big game of keep away right now, and he's loving it!
Nana and Pa-Pa got to experience all of this fun first hand when they came up to visit this weekend. They are going to be scheduling a visit to the chiropractor after lugging His Heaviness aound for two days!

Snow Days

This past week was a long one! It started off with snow. ALOT of snow. So much snow that schools were cancelled for both Monday and Tuesday, which means daycare was cancelled as well. This was actually good timing as Oliver decided to not feel so good when he woke up on Monday. So, we have been battling the sniffles all week. He seems to be on the mend now, although the sniffles are making their way up the family I fear. Par for a winter's work, I suppose.
Anyhoo, this past week also marked 7 months for Oliver. He has been doing tons of growing recently. Here is a rundown of his latest and greatest skills:

• Sits up totally by himself - steady 90% of the time
• Rolls over both ways - now rolls over to reach for an object
• Can pick up anything, and I do mean anything in a split second, using his thumb in addition to fingers
• Babbles up a storm
• Knows his name
• Champion oatmeal eater and has been introduced to pretty much all veggies and fruits now
• Has 2 teeth!
• Loves to stand - will stand all day if we let him, and can stand unassisted while holding onto something like the ottoman.
• Sleeps through the night at a consistent 10 hours straight - has gone 12 hours a few times

There's lots more to add to the list but I don't want to boast about his advancedness too much. :)

Still no crawling. I think he really might just start walking what with all the standing he does.

Okay, that's it for this installment. I leave you with some pics of one of Aunt Meghan's Christmas gifts to Oliver. The cutest, coziest winter outfit ever.

Winter Break's Over

Miss us? Well, we have not had much time to miss anybody the last couple of weeks! Matt and I took our annual Christmas-time trip to Florida to visit Jerry and Melanie. Only this time we had a new relative in tow. Oliver's first time to Ft. Myers could not have gone better.
It was smooth sailing/flying on the way down; the weather was great; Aunt Meghan was there (with some great gifts); and another First in the form of a visit to the swimming pool was made.
Grammy and Granpda were wonderful hosts as always. And made for wonderful babysitters too! I got to sleep in every morning until around 8:00. It was amazing! They had tons of friends swing by to meet the famous but never-before-seen grandbaby. Matt got in a few rounds of golf, although in the end he may have lost money to ol' Grandpa Jerry. Bonus - we got to see some great friends who have moved to Jacksonville, FL as well. Cory and Crystal drove 5 hours to hang out! It was great to see them and definitely has me thinking that there are worse things out there than a move to sunny Florida.
New Year's Eve was low key for us "kids". Matt, Meghan and I (Oliver couldn't make it past 7:30) stayed in and watched a movie, while the grandparents went out to party it up. Quite the reverse situation from just a year before.
The journey back to KS was a little challenging than coming out. Mostly because Oliver was VERY awake and just wanted to play. Playing for him involves lots of high-pitched shrieks of the eardrum-piercing variety, so the last leg was definitely a little tense for us. Luckily, there was what looked to be a 18 month old little girl who was NOT having a good day - thereby removing any passengers' glares from our direction and swinging them over toward hers.
Now we're back to the grind. Oliver has his 6 month pictures tomorrow - only 2 days shy of 7 months!