Cole

People told me that when I had a baby, my heart would grow exponentially and that I would understand love like I never had before. After I had Whitney, I learned that they were right. So when I was pregnant with Cole I started getting nervous about how my heart was going to be able to expand any more. How would I possibly divide that love I was experiencing with Whitney... with another kid? 

Thankfully, soon after I had Cole, I realized that I didn't have to share that love that I had with Whitney with Cole at all! I had the epiphany that with each kid, my body must simply grow a new heart! So now I carry 3 extra hearts in my body (and am growing a 4th!)--each with a unique and specialized love for my individual children.

That little story is the only way I can think of to explain my special relationship with Cole. He's my only little boy (obviously) and my heart goes from (already wimpy) Jell-O to mush when I'm with him. Sure, we have our bad days and our good days. Just last night Cole was furious at me--telling me my new name was "Butt Mom" and other naughty things.

But most days, he keeps me laughing and on my toes with his wit, curiosity, and charm.

Here are some things Cole has been up to lately:

* We took a family hike up to a trail called "Little Yosemite" back in April. We brought the baby backpack for Annie, but she just wanted to walk and run around the trail. As soon as Cole saw that Annie was out, he wanted in. Despite his large size, I couldn't resist his big-eyed plea to hug on my back and pretend like he was my baby monkey boy.

* Cole is starting to put sounds together to read words! I love hearing him saying random sounds as we drive. Today I heard him saying softly, "mmmmm.... uuuuhhh.... sk..sk..sk..... llllll..... eehhhh..." Just trying so hard to read the sign for "muscle cars."

This leap of faith in trying to sound out words has turned into a passion for picking out his own books at the library. I used to grab a handful of books for him because he had hardly any interest in the books on the shelves. But now he's really enjoying it. I love finding him enjoying a good book on the couch (still in his PJs)... even if he isn't reading the words fully yet.

* Tyler came to me the other night and said, "Nats, what's up with Cole's door?" I said, "Oh! Whitney helped him decorate it today." I was wondering if maybe Tyler was bugged by the amount of tape they used or how it clashed with our overall decor in the home.

But instead Tyler said, "You know, honey, I don't mind if you take Cole to the store to buy Wolverine posters or Spiderman things..." It didn't even occur to me that Cole's door had been overly feminized by his sister. The best part is that Cole was SO proud of it! He & Whitney had worked for hours on it, and it wasn't girly in his eyes at all.

Tyler is going to die when I tell him that Cole told me the other day, "I'm so excited to turn 5 so I can have a ladybug birthday party!!" In sweet Cole's defense, red is his favorite color, and he knows that just because they're called ladybugs doesn't mean they are always girls.

* We got some boxes out of storage last weekend, and Cole & his imagination have had a blast playing on them. He's used these boxes for surfing, mountain climbing, and getting food from the highest cupboards. He even made a spaceship (below).

* Cole LOVES to draw. He used to think he could draw any place he wanted. The other day we found this gem on our bedroom wall:

It's only about the size of half of my thumb. Tyler and I instantly knew who Cole had drawn... BATMAN! With the two lines coming out of his head, it was a dead give-away. After Tyler and I stopped laughing and got stern looks on our faces, we disciplined Cole for drawing on the walls and it (thankfully) hasn't happened again.

* Speaking of drawing... the other day I was cleaning up the kitchen table where there were crayons and about 10 pieces of paper with random drawings on them, and I found this one below. I knew he had drawn Batman, but I couldn't really understand what Cole was trying to write. Can you decode it?

I brought the picture to him and said, "Cole, tell me about this picture." He told me that he had drawn a picture of Batman being iGzosTiD... (exhausted). I got such a kick out of him sounding that out all by himself!

* Last weekend Cole went with Tyler to the annual Fathers & Sons Campout with our church. [Side note: Best thing I did was wait to tell Whitney till about 4pm where Cole was headed that night. That way I only had to listen to about 2 hours of complaining about how it wasn't fair that girls couldn't go (blah, blah, blah) instead of days of complaining like last year. I tried to make our girls' night at home extra special with homemade pizza, a movie, and lots of candy so there would be minimal complaints while the boys were gone.]

Tyler got these pictures for me. On the right Cole is having a blast with his S'mores and glowstick. I'm glad these guys could go bond together!

I'm so grateful to be carrying around a little heart full of specialized love for this boy! We love our little Cole.