Ants Marching

At last after several weeks of waiting.. the ants arrived!  Caden got an ant farm for Christmas from Kim and we've been waiting for it to be warm enough to order the ants.  Well they are here and becoming acquainted with their new home.  They've survived a few earthquakes from Cole's mood swings, but so far so good!  Still not much tunneling going on, you have to pre-"drill" a few holes to get them started before they go off on their own.  We are anxiously waiting some new tunnels!

Cole is wise young man and immediately went in search of the magnifying glass.  How he found it so quickly is beyond me since he can hardly find his shoes when they are sitting right in front of him!

Even Cora was excited for the ants and tapped on their home with a marker... I'm not sure they enjoyed that.

Peek-a-Boo!

Each of the boys have their own very different relationship with their sister.  Caden loves to entertain her and try to teach her things, like words to say.  He's the nurturing brother while Cole and Cora like to beat on each other.  And it is funny because Cora will walk up to Cole and just push or hit him, while she doesn't do that to Caden.  Probably because that is what Cole does to her.  Cora loves both her brothers and while sometimes we wish she wouldn't do this.. she laughs heartily at everything they do, especially when they think they think they are particularly funny when really they are being bad!

Where is Caden?

Here he is!

They were so funny!   Laughing so hard at each other and shrieking with joy!

And then they actually started using the slide for it's intended purpose.  Cora can get up on her own but Caden enjoys helping her.  I'm not actually sure where Cole was during all of this thankfully he wasn't around or he probably would have been pushing Cora down the slide.

Cora loves to slide..more so on the big slide on the swing set, but any old slide will do!

Cole

Cole is three!  and he isn't as malnourished as we thought!  Apparently Dora pasta (Dora shaped spaghetti-O's), yogurt, bread, fruit, peanut butter crackers and milk which are keeping him just above the 50th percentile for weight which the pediatrician says is perfect for his height.. which is around the 85th percentile. He is slightly taller than Caden was at this age, and about 2 1/2 pounds lighter.  The doctor also noted that Cole is a bit pigeon toed, and it came to no surprise when he said that because of this he would be a good athlete.  Cole is as strong as an ox, determined and has more energy than we know what to do with!  The doctor also mentioned that the way his knee is connected to his shin (pointing out rather than straight down), he has a good chance of blowing out his right ACL by the time he is 20... wonderful!  But he has a lot of growing to do so I don't think we'll worry about that just yet.

It is hard to believe we were worried at times when Cole didn't/wouldn't talk, just caveman grunts, since now he's a little chatterbox.  My favorites are when he says 'actually' and 'also' which are a regular part of his daily vocabulary.

Interestingly the day Cole turned 3 he somehow decided he didn't need naps, even though he asks for one as usual once he gets upstairs he is restless and ends up coming downstairs immediately or shortly after.  The thing Cole doesn't know is that he DOES still need those naps!  He is Mr. Cranky pants without them.  I'm hoping it is just a phase, hopefully we'll get those naps back soon!

  

Like I said before Cole has a lot of energy, he rarely stops moving.. check out these pictures, they are blurry as most pictures of him are, he is so hard to capture!

When not incredibly frustrating, it is often comical in the way Cole is so easily distracted.  On the way to the bathroom 10 feet away he could stop more than 3 times to look at various toys, etc. totally forgetting he needs to go to the bathroom.  But to tear him away from whatever he IS focused on is practically worth your life!

While incredibly energetic and often very fresh!  Cole is also super lovable and cuddly.  He gives great hugs and gets very upset if you leave the house without giving him a hug and a kiss.

Cole is a great sleeper, like I said before often asking to take a nap, sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night or early morning and wants to sleep with us.  I secretly enjoy it because Caden would never get in bed with us, and still won't.  So once you get past the half hour of Cole moving his feet non-stop, once he finally falls asleep he is quite enjoyable to sleep next to!

Cole is a thumb sucker still... we're working on that.

Cole has taken an interest in learning finally and he picks up on things quickly once he starts, I think because he has Caden to teach him things.  He really loves counting right now, he counts everything.  Tonight at iParty we had to stop so he could count candles.

Cole loves soccer, and he doesn't have sneakers.. no way!  He has 'soccer shoes'.. I think because we bought them the night before his soccer lessons started this past winter.

Cole's favorite color is green.

He loves his brother and his sister, even though he has a funny way of showing it...  By bonking heads with them, hitting them and pushing them down.

Cole makes Rob and I laugh constantly even when he is being bad!  He loves to egg on Caden..  and the other day he wiped a booger on his leg in the car.  While extremely gross, Rob and I laughed for quite awhile on that one.. secretly of course.

He is a monkey!  and can scale anything.

We love our little Cole-bear even in the 'terrible-threes' he's going though! 

Cole is Three!

Happy Birthday to Cole today!  He is three!  It is hard to believe he wasn't three already.  It seemed he was two forever, not that I am complaining.  Cole has his well visit Monday so I'll give you his updates and what he's been up to then...

Cole's favorite color right now is green.  So when I saw this green shirt it was perfect, and funny because it says it is a "hand-me-down", but really it is one of very few items that wasn't Caden's at one point.

Cole is actually getting into learning these days,  he does things at his own pace, but when he decides he is going to do something he does!  So we got him this gadget to help him write letters and shapes since he doesn't always like to learn with us as teachers.  This way we can do this together, but it'll seem more like a game to him.

And meet 'Rocket' and 'Bubble-Guy' (Caden suggested the name 'Bubbles', but Cole got Bubble-Guy out of it)

Dundore and Poobah know Cole's love for fruit, one of the few items on Cole menu that he'll eat.  Cole also likes Spider Man.. so this was a perfect treat!  Notice the pineapple 'webs'!

Cole picked out his own outfit.. who's going to fight the birthday boy?  Although Rob questioned this plan when he got to take him out in public!

Thumbs up.. having a good day

This picture right here sums up Cole.  He didn't hit the terrible two's.. he's in the terrible three's!  Cole has the ability to throw the most impressive tantrum you've ever seen.  Throwing the largest toy he can find clear across the room.  Look out!

Mmm... ice cream cake.  This recipe was DELICIOUS!

What are these trick candles?  Cole called in a little help from Daddy

Cole celebrated his birthday in great company!  He can't wait til his party next week.. although today would have been great weather for a pool party it was HOT and the pool wasn't even that cold.