The Beckman Family: Cole at 1 and 1/2!!!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Cole at 1 and 1/2!!!

Cole celebrated his half birthday back in March! He his your typical busy boy, hilarious, cute and smart toddler! Here are some of the things he's up to lately!

He weighed in at 25 pounds and was 33 inches tall (at his appointment, which was around 19 months). He has finally caught up in height to where Carter was! He must've had a growth spurt or two sometime in the last 3 months!
He has 10 teeth! 4 middle on top and bottom and then 2 top molars. His 2 bottom molars I'm sure will show up any day now. He's been like Carter was... a late teether! But his lack of teeth have never held him back in the eating department!
Speaking of that, he continues to be an awesome eater! Some of his favorite foods are vegetables (sauteed green beans, asparagus, zucchini, onions, bell peppers.... SERIOUSLY!) He knows what's good! He eats all fruits, snack foods, loves yogurt and cheese, he loves pasta, but he's not huge on bread and he's getting pickier about mean than ever before. But he still takes the trophy for my best eater! I'm hoping in a few years, he'll help Ella and (especially) Carter learn what's truly delicious!
He is so active and athletic! He kicks a ball and dribbles a ball like a 3 year old! And jumps on the trampoline like he's been doing it for years! He does somersaults now, and loves to mimic Eric and I as we work out. He's a runner! He puts us to the test when we're out and about and we let him get down on the ground. And when he takes off, he's FAST!! Of course, it's a game and he thinks it's hilarious! I cannot tell you how many times that kid has made ME RUN to catch up to him!
He's still not much of a talker, but he's making improvements all the time. He nods his head 'yes' an 'no' constantly now... although sometimes he doesn't use them correctly! He's recently started using 'uh oh', 'bye bye' and 'more' to communicate. These are words that he has been able to say for a long time, but not used as tools to communicate with us. So we've seen huge improvement there. 'Gaga' is his word for Carter, and "Ewa" is his word for Ella. Mama and Dada he knows, of course. And dog, ball, bounce, bu (bunny), nana. Funny how most of his words are b-words. But he is still a lot of pointing, grunting and "uh, uh, uh" to communicate. He raises his hands to his shoulders to say 'all gone' or 'all done'... and that's pretty cute! Also, just in the last few days we noticed him chiming in when we ask a 'who' question to all the kids... such as, "Who wants to go play outside?!" Generally, the big kids would respond by shouting, "MEEEE!" Cole has picked up on that and now chimes in with the same, while raising his hand in the air. It's hilarious, and so adorable!
He takes a 1.5-2 hour nap each day, sometimes early afternoon, sometimes later. Love that he's still so flexible and can go with the flow easily for whatever our day needs. He sleeps from 8pm-6:30/7am, usually without a peep.
He loves to be outside most of all. Playing outside is this kid's love language!
His hair is still somewhat reddish, but is lightening up quite a bit and looking more blonde each day. It seems like it might bleach in the sun like Carter's does. He also TANS! WHAT?! Yep. He does. He's currently sporting a farmer tan from all our outside and park playtime lately in the gorgeous weather!
He has the most contagious and adorable smile that make it really hard not to just fall in love with him. Plus, DIMPLES! This same smile, when flashed at the right time, is also one of the most mischievous grins I've ever seen! No kidding.
Sometimes he's super outgoing, comfortable smiling and waving to everyone including perfect strangers. And other times he is shy, hiding his face, and even crying when strangers talk to him. Depends on his mood.... never really know what you're going to get!
He LOVES his brother and sister, loves making them laugh, and loves laughing at them, and joining in on their silliness. He watches them, mimics them, and learns from them each and every day. He loves them big time, and they do him, too.