Cole Johnson is special to our family because:

Our first assignment as the parents of a "monkey" at Goddard School:  Write a few words about why your child is special to your family.  Then they are going to put Cole's hand prints on the paper and hang them in the lobby of the school.  So today as I was extremely busy and stressed out (as usual) at work.  An email from Brett comes in and says:

Cole Johnson is special to our family because:

He is so adventurous and funny.  He loves exploring new activities and laughing.  Cole always wants to try new things and see new places.  He is the only grandchild on his Dad’s side and is the star of the family!

Seriously - this is the sweetest thing I've ever read and it made me so teary eyed!  I love my dudes :)

Babies: food allergies and eczema

I am SO happy to report that since our last eating appointment, the quest for Cole to eat all things crunchy has been a huge sucess...his favorites are chocolate cheerios and graham crackers...  Today Debbie (his OT) said that we are just going to skip baby food period.  So today we tried a fruit cup which was a struggle, but managed to get few bites down :)  I'm not going to lie.  I get totally jealous when I go into daycare and watch babies 4 months younger than Cole SCARFING down food.  In my mind, I would lead a completely perfect life if Cole showed any interest in eating...one day, one day...

Anyway, so in our discussions this morning, Debbie mentioned that Cole doesn't have any sensory issues, and his mouth does exactly what it is supposed to do when we put food in.  So I asked her why she thought he doesn't want to eat and she said that sometimes when babies have food allergies, their natural reaction is to refuse what isn't going to be good for them.  So we have to take Cole in for patch testing for allergies.   She also mentioned that babies who have food allergies are prone to eczema.  Cole has crazy bad eczema right now....huge bright red splotches on his body.  It's kind of all starting to come together.  I really hope he doesn't have food allergies and that he is just a huge picky eater like his mom, but time will tell...  :)  Til then....chocolate cheerios and graham crackers it is!!

NOT spam!!

So yesterday at work, the office manager from the Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Center called to harass me about not having filled out Cole's paperwork yet.  When I made his initial appointment last week she was supposed to email me the forms to fill out - I hadn't seen any emails come in and I have been meaning to call her about it but I am such a scatter brain lately!  So she said she would email them again and to check my email right away.  Okay.  No new mail.  Hmmm..maybe I'll check my spam folder.  I sometimes find interesting things in there.  So I open up my spam and what do I see?????

I passed my BodyStep video assessment!!  YAY!!  Seriously - if someone told me a year ago when I was 4 months preggo and took my very first BodyStep class (thanks to Carmen) that I would be a Certified BodyStep instructor in one year, I would have LMAO!!  I knew I wanted to get back to teaching eventually but could never have imagined it would be so soon.  Anyway - I guess lots of hard work (and taking Carmen's BodyStep class until the week I gave birth to Cole) does pay off :)  Oh and having a super FANTASTIC husband who is the best dad in the whole world doesn't hurt either. 

Face Plant!

Every morning (for the past four and a half months) Cole hangs out on our bed while we get ready for work.  Don't worry, we keep four good eyes on him.  Lately his new thing is when I put him in sitting position (he'd rather be on his tummy, but he has not found a gentle way to make the transition) he goes from sitting, then face plants forward, THEN pushes himself up on his arms. 

Yesterday I caught him actually up on his hands and knees a few times.  Something tells me we're going to have to alter our weekday morning schedule here soon :)

FOOD!!

As some of you may or may not know, Cole won't eat solid food.  We have been trying to get him to eat solids on a daily basis (minus a few breaks here and there) since he was 4 months old and he is now 7 months.  We have tried everything you can imagine....rice cereal, oatmeal, baby food (veggies and fruits), mixes of cereal and fruits, watering down baby food and putting it in a bottle, puffs, cheerios, real food (matzo ball soup, mashed potatoes, mini pasta), and even the baby food that you squeeze out and suck.  Nothing.  If we are lucky enough to sneak (and I DO MEAN sneak) a bite in his mouth he spits it right back out.  Finally our pediatrician reccommended that we take him to the Pediatric Feeding & Swallowing Center @ Loudoun Hospital.  I called today to make our appointment and they can get us in as early as next Wednesday 12/22..YAY!!!!  SO EXCITED that my baby might finally be able to eat food soon :) :) 

Feeding Center

New Chair

So since Cole despises his highchair but loves sitting at the feeding table at daycare, we decided to get him one of these Chicco 360 degree seats that you attach right to the table. It looks a bit dangerous but is actually built great and he seems to really like it!! And it's super portable too - yay!!

Cub of the Month!!

So today when I was picking Cole up from daycare, I noticed that he is December's Cub of the Month at Goddard.  I know its kind of silly since its only an infant room at a daycare but I was SO EXCITED about it :)  Cheers to my model "student"...haha!!