Kelly, Chris and Baby Cole!

Animal Sounds

2011-07-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

I am sure every parent feels like their child is the smartest, but I am pretty sure Cole is bordering on genius. Just listen to him...

Beach Video

2011-07-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick video of Cole at the beach on 4th of July weekend. He was drinking the ocean water like he was parched in a desert (wait, we do live in Arizona) and I was sure he was going to get sick. But, his immune system prevailed and he was fine.

San Diego

2011-07-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

It was supposed to reach record highs over the 4th of July weekend in AZ, so we decided a San Diego trip was in order. We had so much fun over the weekend. We got to see my good friend Julie, her husband Mike and their 3-month old Mason. The next day (Saturday) we saw Jamie, Danielle, Kate and their 3-week old addition Lily. On Sunday Cole's Nana, Papa and cousins visited too! Add into that staying the whole weekend with Alli, Brian and Kelsey, plus a couple of BBQs, the beach and Cyndie coming over and it couldn't have been a better weekend.

Second generation of friends...Cole, Kate and Kelsey!

There are so many people I want to visit each time I go to So Cal it can be hard to fit them all in. There are still about 50 people (or more) that I wish I could have seen, but this was a great trip! We saw so many great friends. It reminded me (as San Diego always does) how much I miss living their and my friends and family.

Cole had a GREAT visit. I am so happy so many people got to see him as he is in such a fun stage right now.Daddy and Cole on the beach.

Cole and his fabulous eyelashes!
P.S. Good thing we got out of Arizona - the temperature hit 119 on Saturday!

Golfing...

2011-06-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

In the nude!

Little Prince

2011-06-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

One of the gifts that I got at my shower was this cute little prince robe. Unfortunately, it was one of the things that never got worn by Cole. Until recently...we found it in a drawer and decided to see if it would still fit. Not exactly, but the results are still cute!

Easter at School

2011-04-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Cole's school had a party on Saturday for Easter. Cole had a great time. The morning started with an Easter egg hunt. He really wasn't that interested in the eggs, but once he got his hands on them he didn't want to let go. So he really only needed two eggs to feel complete. Then, there was a snack (donuts! first one - delicious), a craft activity and finally a meet-n-greet with the Easter bunny. We thought the meeting would be a disaster, but he actually did OK. I think since the bunny had a human face he wasn't quite as afraid. All in all it was a lot of fun and we are happy Cole's school has fun events like this for parents and kids to go to!

Craft time with Dad!

Holding my eggs and playing soccer.

The hunt...pretty uneventful. Was more like "The Stand and look at eggs."

Dancing Dinner Party!

2011-04-11T20:48:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the poor video quality, but even blurry you can see how cute it is! I apologize for the singing BTW....the things we do to entertain our children.

Big Boy!!!

2011-04-04T21:20:00.001-07:00

Cole got his first hair cut - oh my dear, was it tramatic! He cried the whole time he was in the chair. They blew bubbles for him, played a video - but nothing could stop those tears. I would share the photos here, but all are lost. I had 3 months of photos on my camera and somehow managed to delete them all before transfering them to the computer.

So, you will have to settle for the post-cut photos, which are cuter anywhere since he isn't hysterical.

Who became a big boy with just a few snips of the scissors?

Let him eat cake!!

2011-04-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Cole was so lucky on his birthday. He had family and friends visit from Hawaii, California, Virgina, Arizona...all to celebrate him. The party turned into a weekend long event with people arriving on Friday and staying through to Sunday/Monday. It was so fun. I think ultimately the party was mostly for me. I stressed out a little bit, but for the most part had a blast. I really had fun visiting with all our family and friends the rest of the weekend. We are so blessed that so many people from near and far were able to come. Here is Cole enjoying his cake. He wasn't sure what to do with it at first but wound up eating some and licking his fingers.

Three Generations of Schwartz Men

2011-04-04T21:00:00.001-07:00

Hmmm..failure anyone?

2011-04-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

So, I know I am like the worst blogger EVER! It has 4 months...and I swear so much has gone on in those 4 months. Cole's first Christmas, a trip to Iowa, a first birthday, a first haircut...you get the idea. Lots of firsts.

I was talking to a friend tonight who was politely not giving me a hard time about the fact that everyone else I know can blog at least a couple of times a month, and yet hear I am taking 4 months to get one post up. I really want to do better. I just wish I could will the photos and stories onto the page.

Here are a couple of photos from the past 4 months....

Cole tells me he loves me..

2010-12-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

Music to my ears....even though he has no idea what he is saying!

A time of Thanks!

2010-12-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

We have a lot to be Thankful for here in the Schwartz household. Even though I don't love living in Arizona, we both have good jobs, we have a nice house, and we have loads of wonderful family and friends (even if most of them live in other states!). So lots to be thankful for.

Mostly this year we are thankful for Cole - he is such a fun baby/little boy and we are blessed to have had a happy, healthy first 1o months under our belts.

Due to Chris' work schedule it is hard for us to travel for Thanksgiving. We have been with friends the past couple of years, but this year celebrated just the 3 of us. We had a yummy dinner. Below are some videos from the day - we are still waiting to purchase a camera.

I can crawl!

2010-11-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posts, but I am sure anyone who reads this blog must be used to it!

We still don't have a camera (we are thinking of getting one for Christmas!) so we are operating off taking videos and pulling stills from them for photos. Or, in the case of this blog, just sharing the videos.

Cole is now 10 months old. He has changed so much recently and is so much fun! He can crawl now and is working on walking. He loves to cruise around, either on the furniture or holding our fingers. He is very vocal, loves to smile and just is coming out of a period of "strangers=danger" where he always preferred to be held my mom and dad!

Chris and I are both doing well. We are keeping busy with work. We just put the house on the market this week. We had an open house yesterday and had a great turnout. Hopefully we will get the house sold in the next few months. Aside from that, not much else is new.

Here is a recent video of Cole crawling. He is a bit faster now and has straightened it out a bit!

Trying to crawl

2010-10-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

Cole is getting pretty close to crawling! Probably any day now. Here he is showing his form.

He also just had his 9 month check up. He is 18 lbs 2 oz, 28 inches (I think) and he has two teeth! Teething has not been the funnest thing, but he is getting by and so are mom and dad.

Dang...that's impressive!

2010-10-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

Cole was getting his jump on in his exersaucer while Kurtis was watching. Cole has some amazing bounce skills which Kurtis really appreciates. Check out Kurtis in the background be struck with awe as Cole jumps.

My ears!

2010-10-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

This video is from August, but I thought I would still share as it is pretty funny. He can't handle the sound of his own shriek.

Is it just me, or does this photo make my lips look big?

2010-09-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

No more lip plumping for Cole!

Cole and Kurtis meet!

2010-09-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

Cole has had a very fun couple of weeks! Two weeks ago, he got to meet his cousin Kurtis for the first time. Matt, Riana and Grandma were all here as well. We all went to the pool, the playground, cooked good food, and just generally had a great time! It was so fun to see the family - Matt and Ri hadn't been down to Vegas for a year and it was Grandma's first trip back to the Mainland since moving to Hawaii. The next weekend we all headed to CA to celebrate Papa Spicer's 60th birthday. Unfortunately, we had a mishap with the diaper bag and the camera (leaking baby bottle - oh no!) so we have no pictures from that weekend and need to buy a new camera!

Who loves the bath?

2010-08-11T20:53:00.001-07:00

Cole has graduated from sitting in a "baby" bath in the big tub, to just sitting up and chillin in the water. He absolutely loves it. He loves to splash Chris and I. He gets this really deep look of concentration on his face while he splashes the water and sometimes acts surprised when he gets his face all wet. It's that casue and effect thing he doesn't have down yet. Regardless, bath time = fun time at the Schwartz house.

Enjoy!

Cole with Family

2010-08-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here are various pictures of Cole with my side of the family from our summer visits. We are hoping to get to Iowa on Labor Day so Cole can hang with the Schwartz' too! It will be Cole's first plane ride, and hopefully he will do great, since he is going to be visiting his grandma in Hawaii and his family in Iowa for years to come. We got lucky with one set of grandparents in driving distance!

Sunny San Diego

2010-08-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

We have visited San Diego twice this summer. Once with Cole, and once without. Here is a photo from the first trip. Cole and I (along with Alli) visited Balboa Park. We took a nice walk and posed for a photo opp. It is really important to me that Cole LOVE San Diego. Maybe we will live there again one day, but if we don't I still want to visit as often as possible.

Cole also got to meet some of my friends from LEGOLAND. Here he is with Julie, Pernille, and Heather!

The next time we went to San Diego was just last weekend. We went with some friends that own race horses, so it was a very "VIP" experience at the track. Here is world-famous jockey Mike Smith riding their horse in a "work" or practice ride. This is on Sunday a.m. when it is just owners, trainers and jockeys and the track. We got the whole behind the scenes tour! We also had a sweet table the day before.

Here are Chris and I at Del Mar on Saturday in the "inner circle" at the paddock at the track. It was really cool - this is where all the horses are prepped before the race and "shown" to the crowds of gamblers. What you can't see is Mario Lopez, who also was at the track, standing just off-camera on my right.

Prunes....so good, so messy!

2010-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Cole is doing a great job with eating baby food. He seems to like just about every flavor and as long as we give him small bites, he generally stays clean.

That was, until we introduced prunes. I am not sure why - he liked them - but for some reason eating prunes resulted im the biggest baby food mess of all time.

I don't think it will always be this messy to eat prunes, but just in case, all prunes have been taken to daycare for them to feed to Cole!

6 Months

2010-07-22T22:09:00.001-07:00

Well, Cole had his 6 month check up last week. He is doing great across the board. He was 27" long (75%) and almost 15 lbs (25%). Cole's weight "fell off" the curve a bit, so the Dr. asked to see him again in a month for a weight check. Apparently he got longer without getting heavier - who would have thought with Chris and I as parents!!!

We have him on solids now 3x a day and I swear he is already bigger.

Not much else to report. He is a really happy baby, laughs a lot, rarely cries and is generally really laid back. His latest "party trick" is sitting up, which he can do for 2o minutes or longer without falling over. He rolls over from his tummy to back, but has yet to do it in public - we just fine him flipped over in his crib!

Here is a video of Cole cracking up at me - I am showing him my muscles!!

My first girlfriend

2010-07-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

So, Cole already has a girlfriend lined up for when the time comes. My good friend Danille's little girl Kate definitely has a hold of Cole's heart - at least if Danielle and I have anything to say about it!

Here are some moments from their second meeting. Love at second site.

Thank You Grandma!

2010-07-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Cole is well on his way to enjoying a variety of baby food. He has liked it all - but leans towards bananas as his favorite and peas as his least favorite (so far). He seems to really enjoy eating, and tends to follow the spoon with his open mouth, lean in and take pretty big bites.

Here is a quick video of his first run with apples - clearly a winner!!

Once again, yes I still plan to blog.

2010-07-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

So it appears that I might be the worst blogger ever. It is not that I don't want to update, post all the amazing stuff Cole does, etc. I just find myself coming home and not being drawn toward the computer. So, all I can really keep saying is I will try to find blogging more appetizing. Perhaps this glass of wine I am having has something to do with it. In the interest of a scientific study, I will try to have a glass of wine each night this week to unwind to see it if leads me to be better at blogging.

Trevor and Aunt Janet in Cali A lot has been happening lately....SEA LIFE continues to be really busy. Chris isn't quite as busy at work right now, since we are now rarely below 110 degrees in the day - not prime golfing weather!! So, he was able to escape to Bandon Dunes in Oregon for 5 days last week. He had a great time. Aunt Janet has said we all need to rent a house up there for a family vacation and I think she has likely won Chris over now.

Cole about 6 months

Let's see...the coolest thing we have done recently (well, the beginning of July - is that still recent?) was to travel to California to introduce Cole to all our Cali friends and family. We had so much fun. Cole was a champion on the car rides and for the most part got a perfect 10 for baby behavior. There was one small misstep at his Aunt Cyndie's house when he was meeting Cyndie and Pollywog. A major breakdown - probably the worst he has ever had. I am going to chalk it up to stranger danger, but it could have been he was jealous of the way I was only paying attention to the delicious Pizza Nova we were eating. Anyone would be jealous when they feel the love I have for that food...I would KILL to have a Pizza Nova out here.

Baby Seth

What else....we stayed with Alli and Brian one night so Cole got to meet a potential girlfriend in-utero. Alli is about 6 months prego so we figure this was Cole's first opportunity to meet Baby Girl Elliott. He already has been betrothed to Kate Ryan, but I think he can try to date both of them at some point before deciding on a lifetime love.

In addition to San Diego we spent a lot of time in Monrovia with family where Cole got to meet a whole host of people, most importantly his cousins! He also spent some quality time with Nani and Papa Spicer and Aunt Janet.

Overall, we had a wonderful trip and traveling with Cole turned out to be pretty easy - although we still have to conquer that plane thing.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Chris, Cole and I had a great day today. The day started with a homemade breakfast for Daddy - eggs, sausage and monkey bread! Delicious! Then, we spent the day hanging out with Cole and Daddy getting some quality time. Cole is working on perfecting sitting up, so we cleared out the coffee table to give him lots of carpet to work with. He did a great job, and by the time we are in CA next week I think he will have sitting down.

The US open was on, so Cole threw on a sweater vest and hat to watch with Dad. I think Cole already is hooked. There is no escaping golf as a part of his future.Chris and I topped the night off with steaks and a bottle of wine....all in all, a perfect day!

Yes, I still plan to blog!

2010-06-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while since I shared an update from Arizona. All is well in the land of heat - we have just been incredibly busy! I am going to try to give the quick version of what we have been up to, and throw in some recent photos of Cole so you can all see how he is looking now that he is almost 5 months!

SEA LIFE Arizona officially opened on May 14 and it has been nonstop ever since. The aquarium is doing great. Too great at times. I have been literally burried in work ever since the opening. My hectic work schedule has me staying at work a couple of times a week until around 9, which has given Chris and Cole some great father -son time. Chris is so good with Cole - they love to hang together. Cole already has seen the French Open, Stanley Cup, NBA playoffs, etc. I know babies shouldn't watch a lot of TV but they are just too stinkin cute when they sit on the couch together.

Cole is getting big - he was 13 lbs on May 17, so I am sure he is even bigger now. He is still on the light side for his age (25% percentile) and long (75% percentile). He is a really happy baby - loves to smile. In recent weeks he also has started laughing a lot, rolling on to one side (but not over) and eating rice cereal. We are very proud parents.

Chris and I celebrated our 4 year anniversay on May 30. Our friends Lizzie and Greg watched Cole and we went out to dinner. Hard to believe it has already been 4 years of marriage.

Sorry for the one long post, but I thought it would be easier to do a quick catch up rather than trying to post seperately for all that has gone on in the last month!

I'm a model, you know what I mean!

2010-04-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

No, we haven't started Cole in modeling school or anything, but you have to admit, dude is working it big time in these photos....Ralph Lauren, eat your heart out!

Catch up!

2010-04-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy month or so here at Casa de Schwartz. It started (I think, it is hard to remember who came first) with Cole's Great Aunt Janet coming to town. We had a wonderful time with her. Cole loved getting to meet her and shared lots of love with her. He was feeling super-duper, as he got two new quilts to play on! One hand made by Aunt Janet and the other by her friend Terri! So awesome.

The next week our good friends Alli and Brian came out. They brought their dog Bailey. We were all anxious to see how PJ and Bailey would get along, but all worked out well. Cole was a real champ, and impressed our guests with what a good baby he is!

Next came Danielle and Jamie and their daughter Kate (Cole's future girlfriend). Unfortunately, Cole got a cold this weekend (as noted in my last post), but we still had a nice weekend. I was a little worried since Cole has never been sick before, but aside from a minor poolside break down, he did OK. It was fun to see Kate and imagine what Cole will be like in 5 months. More fun, but louder....seems like a fair trade. I will post some photo from their visit in another post, as they have a paparazzi-style camera that snaps like 100 photos a second. So I need to go through and pick out the best ones.

This weekend brought my mom and her boyfriend Rodney. Cole has rebounded a bit from his cold and is feeling better, although he can still shoot big boogers out of his nose when he sneezes. Having many wonderful visitors has kept us busy and the house full, which we love!! Cole loves meeting all his friends and we love having our friends and family around.

Well, that is the major update post. More photos and stories to come...

Cole is sick

2010-04-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

We have had a good couple of weeks with lots of visitors....more to come on that later. But, the bad news is after 3 weeks of daycare, Cole has his first cold. So send him happy thoughts to get better.

Here is a great shot of him from Easter....enjoy.

Happy Easter Everyone!

2010-04-04T11:52:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter my peeps!

Getting strong...

2010-04-03T18:00:00.001-07:00

Cole has been holding his head up pretty well lately. He especially loves to practice when we are carrying him around. He will lift his head off our shoulder and look all around the room to see what is going on. He is still a little wobbly, but he is getting nice and strong.

P.S. - check out those eyelashes....

Day Care - the first week

2010-03-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official - Cole has entered the daycare arena. We just completed his first week of going to "school" everyday and Cole did great! His teachers all love him already, especially the morning teacher who already called him her fave. We aren't surprised, because Cole is the happiest morning baby...I mean he is generally pretty pleasant, but in the morning he really shines.

I made it through the week with only crying once (the first day) and calling twice to check on him (day 1 and 2). I feel pretty good now with him being there. The teachers all seem top-notch and I love the little reports we get each day on what he did. Here is a sample:

This week's theme: Water (each week they have a theme they learn about, even in the infant room!)

Language Arts: We practiced making swishing sounds like water

Cognitive development: We pretended to row our boats and wave our arms

Music: We sang row, row, row, your boat

Creative art: we painted with colored ice cubes

Motor skills: We tried pulling ourselves up with the help of our teachers

Self Help: we practiced the sign language sign for "eat"

Sensory stimulation: we squeezed water out of a wet sponge

So, as you can see, Cole is busy each day doing all kinds of fun things.

Here is a photo of Day 1 before we left. As you can see, he is protesting a bit:

But, by Day 2 he was all good!

Aunt Cindy!

2010-03-27T17:46:00.001-07:00

Cole, Chris and I had a real treat last week when Aunt Cindy, Chris' sister, came to stay with us for a week. She watched Cole during the day while we were at work, and then we all got to spend the evenings together. Cindy was like superwoman - I would come home and she would have vacuumed, done the dishes, started laundry and baked cookies - all while watching Cole. It truly amazed me, as when I stayed home with him I felt accomplished if I showered and brushed my teeth. She did have the advantage of getting him to nap during the day - we have found the trick to be putting him down on his stomach. But regardless, you can tell she has some serious mommy and multi-tasking skills!!

We miss her already, but she has promised to come back soon and hopefully bring Cole's cousins Jenny and Sarah next time! We hope to make it out to Iowa too.

Bad habits start early..

2010-03-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Cole from a few weeks ago. He really started to take an interest in the TV when it was on- we think he liked the pictures/shadows moving on the screen. I was a bit worried since bad habits (like excessive TV watching) start early, but I figured it couldn't hurt him as long as we balanced it with a lot of reading too!!

Now that he is at daycare he doesn't really have time to tune in the way he did when he stayed at home. The same goes for me, and I have to admit, I miss me a little Regis and Kelly!

The written word...

2010-03-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

There has been a request among the blog readers that I add more text to my posts. I hate to think I am a lazy blogger, but just throwing a photo up is so much easier. But, Cole is much more than a handsome face. So I am going to do my best to add some additional color to my posts.

Cole had his two week appointment last week. He weighed in at 10 lbs, 11 oz....so he has put on more than 4 lbs since birth. He was 23 inches long, which is a growth of more than 2 inches - but it really seems like he is longer than that! He is pretty average when you talk "percentiles" and if anything is on the low side on weight. He took his shots like a champ - 5 in all!

He is getting a really strong neck, moves his head back and forth, LOVES to smile, and in general seems to be hitting all his developmental milestones. He discovered his fist recently and now constantly has it in his mouth! He also takes swipes at toys, talks back to us when we talk to him, and moves his arms and legs all the time.

Tomorrow is his first day at daycare, which is a big step for both of us. We are sure he will do great, and hopeful that I will do great too :)

More to come....

My clothes say it all!

2010-03-20T15:40:00.001-07:00

Lovin on Grandma!

2010-03-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Cole got to spend all last week with his Grandma. He had a fabulous time hanging with her. They went for walks, played and best of all, Grandma sang to him! Here are some pics of Cole giving Grandma the "I love you" eyes and smile.

Mom and her boy

2010-03-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Since I am normally behind the camera, there aren't a ton of pictures with me and Cole. We took these ones the other night while Cole was out cold....

Sweet face....

2010-03-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

This is the face that just melts our hearts.....watch out ladies, he's a heartbreaker.

Onesies!!

2010-03-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

Cole's Aunts Alli and Danielle threw a kick-ass shower for him back in November. As a part of the festivities, all the ladies made him some onesies. At first Cole didn't fit into any of them, but now that he has gotten his growth on, he can sport them around. Here are a couple he wore last week:
This one was created by his girl Liliana Mendoza...she is about 15 months old, so Cole is considering dating older women. This one was made by his homies (and Mom's good friends) Heather and Pernille. Even babies love Perez. And, the cream of the crop, the Pizza Nova onesie. Designed (free hand, from memory) by his Aunt Cyndie, Cole is proof you are never to young to crave bollas and chicken tequila fettuccine. This onesie is signed by all the Pizza Nova girls!

Hello!

2010-03-10T20:45:00.001-08:00

Schwartz Family Shots

2010-03-05T20:16:00.001-08:00

Chris; parents also came to visit for a week! It was great to spend time with them. They treated us not only to their company, but made us many yummy dinners and baked goods. The glazed salmon and rocky road bars were the biggest hits!

Spicer family shots!

2010-03-05T20:10:00.001-08:00

My family came to visit a couple of weeks ago from So Cal. Here are some shots from thier visit. Cole was especially excited to see his cousin Seth again, even if he hasn't entered the "real" world yet.

My First Mohawk!

2010-02-28T17:18:00.001-08:00

A photo shoot with Cole

2010-02-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Cole and I hang out and stretch every morning. Often, these baby yoga routines turn into impromptu photo shoots. While I am not the best photographer, here are some shots from a recent morning.
Notice the new double chin and big belly - Cole is trying to get up to fighting weight!

Getting Clean...

2010-02-19T10:35:00.000-08:00

A little bit o' video

2010-02-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

Well, Cole has started babbling and smiling a bit, so I busted out the camera to try to catch it on video - but no dice. So here is the video anyway...it is a little boring, but those of you who haven't officially met Cole might like watching to check him out "in action"!

Cole Loves......

2010-02-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

His Grandmas!!!

Aunt Stephani's First Visit

2010-02-12T18:19:00.000-08:00

Aunti Nini came to visit a few weeks ago and spent the day with us. It was great to see her. We wish she still lived here in AZ with us, but since she moved back to Cali, she will just have to visit often!!

Mommy's Three Boys...

2010-02-12T18:16:00.001-08:00

Here are my three boys all taking a nap together....PJ has been great so far with Cole. I think he feels pretty confident since he is three times the size of Cole!

Watch me grow..

2010-02-03T18:02:00.001-08:00

What a difference a few weeks makes! The first photo is Cole when he is only a few days old...the next was taken just a few days ago at about 3 weeks old! Look at how he has grown...I feel like he is already a little boy in the bottom photo. Don't grow up too quickly Cole!

Baby Yoga

2010-02-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

So, Cole likes to get his stretch on once a day or so, to flex his muscles and let out some energy. I usually try to give him a little baby massage too...this helps his belly, which tends to be a little gassy.

His favorite place to stretch is on the quilt his Nana and Aunt Janet made!

Cole's Nursery Tour

2010-01-29T20:25:00.000-08:00

So, I posted a video tour of Cole's nursery, but for whatever reason, it posted a few blog posts back. For those of you that want to check out the nursery, scroll down the blog posts below to the one dated last Saturday and you can check it out!

I am too lazy to repost it on the correct day.....

Two Week Check Up!

2010-01-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

Cole had his two week check up with the pediatrician today and got a gold star for health. His last weigh in (on Jan. 15) he was 6 lbs, 1 oz. Today he was up to 6 lbs, 14 oz! A gain of 13 oz. in 11 days! He also has grown 3/4 of an inch since birth.

He is keeping us up a bit more at night, but we are learning to adjust. It is nice to have him more alert- we spend more time looking at one another, singing, and Cole gets little baby massages to make him happy. They also make his belly happy - he has had a bit of a gas problem which makes him uncomfortable.

Cole's Aunt Erin also recommended a great carrier to keep Cole in during the day when I need "hands free" time. Cole seems to like it and I am getting used to carrying him around like a kangaroo!

A-okay!

2010-01-25T11:29:00.001-08:00

Cole always has his hands up by his face while he sleeps, and the other day we caught him giving life the a-okay! Perhaps this means he will be good at sign language??

Shout out to Uncle Trevor

2010-01-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

Seriously, Cole has like 20 pairs of socks and not one pair will stay on his little feet. Is there such a thing as baby socks that actually work? Granted, Cole also is constantly movin his little legs and feet, but still....is it too much to ask for socks that actually stay put?

This pair is the best at staying on so far. They are the baby version of Uncle Trevor's faves, so here's to Uncle Trevor and Aunt Deena for hooking Cole up with the only socks that will stay on Cole's feet for more than 5 minutes...

Sleeping.....

2010-01-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

Cole is still being a great baby and has been awake a lot more this last week. That is a good thing and a bad thing - nice that he is awake more during the day because we can play with him a little, but he is also taking a while to go to sleep at night after feedings, so we haven't been getting a lot of shut eye!

Either way, the majority of Cole's time is still spent with eyes closed, so in honor of that, he are some shots of us catching some shut eye with the baby this week!

The Nursery

2010-01-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

Many people have requested to see what Cole's nursery looks like. Like most newborns, he is barely in his room at all, spending most of his time in our arms or in his bed in our room. But, he does have his own room all set up and it looks great!

Chris and I both new we didn't want too much of a "theme", but in general we have a color scheme (blue & brown) and some sports stuff. We compromised to make sure the room was enough "baby" for me and enough "little boy" for Chris! I think it worked out in the end!

My First Smile

2010-01-18T17:04:00.000-08:00

The Chest Sleep

2010-01-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

Cole loves to fall asleep on the chest of either Mommy or Daddy. He always passes out in what seems like the most uncomfortable pose, with his head thrown back...the best demonstration is in the last photo. No matter how hard we try to keep his neck and head in place, it always rolls to the side...

The Dr. is In!

2010-01-18T16:46:00.001-08:00

Cole just loves his pediatrician, Dr. Seitter. When he came by to visit in the hospital, we had just changed his diapers and he was a little fussy. But, he immediately calmed down when Dr. Seitter examined him.

We had our first official check up on Friday and Cole did great. Not only did he not cry even once, he had gained back all but 1 oz of the weight he lost after birth! What a little success already.

Anyhow, Chris and I had been actively charting all Cole's feeding and wet diapers to make sure that Cole was eating enough....Dr. said not to worry about tracking it all...he is healthy and doing great!

Here are some photos from the big event.

On his way to the car with Daddy:

This one gives great perspecitve on how little he is!

Chillin' on the exam table

A few shots of Cole from this week!

2010-01-16T15:21:00.001-08:00

So, I know we are his parents, so we think he is the cutest thing ever, but really,

can he be any sweeter??

Baby Cole and his peeps

2010-01-15T19:17:00.000-08:00

Things we have learned this week....

2010-01-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

Well, this first week has brought us a lot of joy! We have been relaxing at home and enjoying our time as a new family. Here is a list of things we have learned this week!

Breastfeeding is hard and it can sometimes take a team to get the job done

Knowing how to correctly swaddle a baby can save you from a lot of baby cries

Patience is more than a virtue....it is a necessity!

Every baby looks even cuter when you put a hat on them

They are just so little.....

A new mom can spend an hour in the dark watching to make sure the baby is still breathing

Nothing calms a baby (or Daddy) like sleeping on Daddy's chest and hearing his heart beat

Being a parent makes you make up songs to soothe your baby

It is nice to have someone around to cook, clean and run errands for you

Baby Cole has arrived!

2010-01-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

That's right! He is here....on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 11:18 p.m. little Cole Robert Schwartz entered the world. He weighed in at 6 lbs, 2 oz. and 20.25 inches long. We can't believe how little he is!

My water broke at 6:30 a.m., which was quite a surprise as I never thought that is how I would go into labor. But, little Cole decided it was time! Chris was a great coach throughout the whole day and my Mom helped out as well at "push time"!

Little Cole had a great cheering section, with his Grandma, his Nana and Papa who drove in from California for the delivery, his Aunt Lizzie from here in Phoenix, and his Aunt Alli flew in from San Diego to be there for the big day.

We spent all day Monday and most of the day Tuesday in the hospital, getting to know Cole and practicing feeding. We have been home since Tuesday night, and Cole has been such a good boy! He love to eat and sleep on his Daddy's chest.

We are truly blessed, and can't wait for you all to meet our little guy.

39 weeks....its time

2010-01-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

Thought we would do a quick post to let everyone know how things are going in the final week.

I have been keeping busy with work, lots of meetings every day and training the girl who is filling in for me while I am out. I am starting to slow down, especially at the end of the day, but overall am feeling pretty good. I have been having a hard time sleeping the last couple of nights, but that is really my only complaint.

Our last Dr. appointment was Thursday and things are going well - I was 1 cm dialated, 50% effaced and Cole is "engaged" so to speak - head down and ready! The Dr. feels confident that I will be close to on time, and will induce if I get more than a week late. So, we will be having a baby in the next 2 weeks!!

Chris and I are both very excited and have done just about all we can to prepare. Now, we just have to wait. The good news is we both have work to keep us busy until the little guy decides to make his arrival.

That's all for now....hopefully we will be sharing baby photos this week!

Mom and me....

2009-12-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

Mom came to visit over the holiday as well to get some quality time with her very pregnant daughter! We had a great time relaxing. She will be back for a week or more when the little one officially arrives.

Christmas in Arizona

2009-12-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas Day with our good friends Lizzie and Greg.....this is how they showed up at our house to celebrate. Can you believe these are actually sweaters that her mom owned? And yes, her mom was a teacher, so that explains a little of it!
We did a little gift exchange and made a wonderful dinner...then watched the Chargers kick some butt!

Christmas in California

2009-12-30T18:25:00.001-08:00

We went early to California this year to celebrate Christmas! It was great to see the whole family. Travis was so cute, as he is old enough now to really get what an exciting time of year it is. Watching him open and play with gifts was a lot of fun. We, of course, got him a golf club so he can start practicing to hit the links with his dad and uncle. Here is the real star of the show these days though - Addison!!

Here is a photo of my sister-in-law Deena and I with our baby bumps meeting....she is around 22 weeks and I am around 35!

Trevor is very excited to be a dad soon! We are both having little boys, so it will be fun to have the cousins grow up together.

34 weeks!

2009-12-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

You know you are close to having a baby when you can count the time in days rather than weeks. According to Chris we are about 40 days away....which makes me panic just a bit!!

We are prepared, but I still feel like we need more time. Maybe it is the car seat, pediatrician, child care, insurance, etc. that is overwhelming me - you know, all the "adult" stuff that goes along with having a baby!

Here is a photo Alli took of me this past weekend. She and Brian spent the weekend with us and we "decked the halls!"

Bad Blogger

2009-12-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

So, I have not been the best blogger lately.....things have been very busy as I started with my new job and have been preparing for the baby.

My moms through me a great shower, then I headed to San Diego to stay with my friend Danielle, her husband Jamie and daughter Kate for a week while I trained at LEGOLAND and SEA LIFE Carlsbad for me new job.....at SEA LIFE Arizona. It was a lot of fun to be back in Cali for a whole week.

The next weekend before I left Danielle and Alli through me a baby shower with all my peeps in San Diego. It was awesome - we had a good time and all the ladies made onsies for our little boy.

Then, this last weekend, my sister Steph and friend Lizzie, and friend Brorlynn gave Chris and I a couples shower! How lucky are we?? Three showers in a month.

Aside from all the showers, friends, fun and new job not a lot has been going on. Chris and I are getting excited and I am getting bigger. I still feel 95% good...just a bit swollen and tired.

26 weeks - POP!

2009-10-15T21:41:00.001-07:00

Well, a few people commented that my last baby bump photo didn't show the bump enough! So here is a shot from yesterday - somewhere past 26 weeks and on my way to 27. As you can see, I have definitely "popped" in the past couple of weeks. There is no denying the baby now.

Chris and I have been busy shopping for furniture, registering and trying to navigate next steps in the baby plan. By the way - if you happen to check the Babies R Us registry, Chris got a little excited with the scanner gun. Please ignore the "Baby on Board" sign. Unless you want to get it for him for his golf cart!

This is why we shouldn't live in the desert!

2009-10-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, some of you may have already heard about the frightful night we had last Thursday (a little over a week ago). I was restlessly sleeping in bed (a result of multiple mosquito bites had me tossing and turning), when all of a sudden a painful bite woke me. I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom to try to see what had happened - this was at 2 a.m. My hand was stinging, on fire, and generally feeling like something was very wrong.

I went back into the bedroom to wake Chris. I gave him the quick rundown after flipping on the light - something had bitten me, it hurt badly, and I thought we should find what it was in case it was poisonous. I started sifting through pillows on the floor, thinking whatever it was had likely gotten flung from the bed when I jumped out. Chris, still in bed, pulled the covers back on my side to look on the bed.

And there it was - a 2 inch long scorpion, still alive, chillin in bed with us!!! OMG! NOT what you want to wake up to, especially at 6 months prego. We immediately went into crisis mode - me jumping on the Internet to see how harmful the sting could be to me and the baby, Chris grabbing some kitchen utensils to go on a scorpion hunt in the bed.

Good news:

The sting would not hurt the baby

I was fine, just in some pain

We got to "trial run" the 24-hour emergency answering service for my OB - and he called me back within 5 minutes - a complete success

My OB gave me good advice that was supported by the ER staff

Bad news:

We had to spend 2 hours in the ER at 3 a.m.

My hand hurt (and I was still itchy from the mosquito bites)

We are now petrified of a repeat performance and another late night visitor (although we both realize the likelihood of this happening again is slim)

Here is a picture of the creepy thing, outside our house the next day. After Chris killed it he left it on our sidewalk so I could capture a photo to remember him by.

So needless to say, we hope to never go through that again. The weird thing is, we have never even seen a bug inside the house before - no spiders, crickets (which scorpions eat), etc. So why this guy turned up is beyond me.

We now have a new nighttime routine - brush teeth, turn off light, get out blacklight and search the room - scorpions glow under a blacklight so this is a sure-fire way to catch them!

6 months...the baby bump!

2009-09-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is! The much anticipated baby bump photo. This photo is from 24 weeks (almost to the day!). As you can see there is a definite bulge for the baby. My trusty guide to pregnancy says I should add 1/2 an inch to my belly every week moving forward. That is a lot more inches to go! The baby continues to be very active.

Aside from that not much new to report. We are getting ready to register - frightening prospect, especially for Chris. We also are thinking about the nursery, furniture, etc.

The only other major life update is that I officially have a mom-mobile. No, not a mini-van. I got a new Hyundai Santa Fe SUV!! I have already put more than 700 miles on it (in 10 days!).

23 Weeks and Kickin It!

2009-09-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we are officially 23, almost 24 weeks. The little one is kickin' up a storm lately. His most active times are at night around 8 p.m. and then around 4 a.m. in the morning. Lucky me for the 4 a.m. boxing round. I think this is just training because we know we will be up all night anyway in a few months. In all seriousness, I like the kicking because I know he is there - it is comforting after months of knowing I was pregnant but never feeling like I was.

Aside from that there is not much new to report. I am feeling a lot better and generally all my sickness is behind me. There have been numerous requests for a baby bump photo, which I promise to post soon. I need to find the right outfit that actually makes me look prego and not just fat!!

Family in Town!!!

2009-09-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Chris and I were lucky enough to be host to my family when they all came into town at the very end of August. My youngest brother Matt was celebrating his birthday (the Big 25!) so he came down to party with his family, Riana and baby Kurtis, then my mom and my brother Trevor and his wife Deena came.

It was REALLY hot (115) but we still had a good time. Isn't Kurtis the cutest? He was such a good baby the whole time - I hope Chris and I are that lucky :)

So Cal Baby Tour

2009-09-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day Weekend I headed out to Southern California to see the two new babies in my life! My good friend Danielle and her husband just had a beautiful baby girl named Kate. Here Danielle and I are enjoying a little "girl time"!

Then I headed up to the LA area to see my newborn niece, Addison Kelly Smith! A namesake! I had a great visit with my family and got to see an old friend who didn't know I was pregnant - it is always fun to surprise people when you are 22 weeks along!!! Talk about shocking.

It's a Boy!!

2009-08-30T19:34:00.001-07:00

We had our 20 week ultrasound on Friday and it's a boy! Everything seems to be going great. The little guy was really active and moving all over the place. There are a couple of fun photos below. Even though 20 weeks is a little early to get good 4D pictures, she got a couple of good ones.

It's a boy and here's the proof!

Safe and sound.

Hi! I can't wait to meet you!

Schwartz family in Las Vegas

2009-08-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

We took a fun trip to Las Vegas with Chris' side of the family. His parents hadn't been in a while, so it was quite an experience for them to see how much The Strip has changed.

Here is a good photo from inside the Bellagio.

Friends and fun!

2009-08-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

New Years with Lizzie and Greg!

For Alli and I's 30th birthday we took a group trip to Napa....it was awesome.
Here is a group shot of all the couples at our first winery.

New Member of the Family...

2009-08-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Introducing Kurtis....the newest member of our family. As mentioned in an earlier post, he is now 8 months old....so these are taking you a bit "back in time" to his earlier months...

Christmas 2008

2009-08-23T12:34:00.001-07:00

Here is a shot from Christmas...Chris and I hosted the Spicer side of the family!
Our first holiday in our new home.

Fun family shots from the last year....

2009-08-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of good photos from the last year.....these are from the baby shower for my nephew Kurtis. So these are before he was born....he is now 8 months old....

A cute shot of me and Travis from the shower.

A brother sandwich!

The expectant parents!

We are back in business....and having a baby!

2009-08-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

So, the blogging thing kind of fell apart earlier in the year. Actually, almost a year ago! Our computer kind of crashed, and we just never really got around to fixing it and posting to the blog.

But a major life event has brought us back to the blogging fold - we are having a baby (most of you already know this). So, we are going to do our best to be better bloggers so that you can all share in the joys......here is the proof of our new little one on the way!

I am now 19 weeks, so we are almost half way done. The first half was a little rough for me, but I am feeling better now...most of the time. Chris would swear it was tough for him too, but that is mostly because he had to eat a bunch of junk food with me for a month - I swear all I wanted to eat was pizza, mac-n-cheese, grilled cheese and bean and cheese burritos.

We have our 20 week ultrasound in a little over a week which we are really excited about.

I am going to take the next few posts to share some fun photos from the last year (just something for you to look at). So start checking back often as we hope to share this exciting time in our lives with you!

Ride 'em cowboy!

2008-10-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be a picture but our trailguide took a video instead.
Oh, well - you get the idea!

Summer Outing

2008-10-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

My coworkers and I went on a "summer" outing (even though it is October). Here are the photos! It brought me right back to my childhood!

The outdoor fireplace

2008-10-12T20:17:00.001-07:00

Above is the fireplace looking from the patio in the backyard.

This picture is looking from the kitchen out to the covered patio and fireplace. the two windows are off the "great" room and to the right you can see the rolling wall of glass that separates the dining room from the covered patio

The kitchen

2008-10-12T20:08:00.001-07:00

2 weeks to go!

2008-10-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

The house is coming along - we have 2 weeks till we move in! Here are the latest photos:

Here is the backyard

Fun at ASU games

2008-10-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Our friends Lizzie and Greg - they have helped make us feel at home in AZ.

Here are some photos of us having fun after a game at ASU - go Sun Devils!

The happy couple

2008-10-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

The photo above is from thier wedding day, 50 years earlier

And here they are today!

Rally Time

2008-10-12T19:39:00.001-07:00

Chris working the rally cap

Will working the rally glasses

Unfortunately, the home team still lost, but the view was great!

Baseball Game

2008-10-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

We went to a good ole mid-western baseball game one night while we were in Iowa. The whole family was there to celebrate so we got a box at the local ballpark. I liked the ribs.

Amy, our sister-in-law, discovered the Taco-in-a-bag....delicious and simple. I still can't believe neither of us had ever had one.

Good food, good family, good times!

Labor Day in Iowa

2008-10-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

We went to Iowa for Labor Day to celebrate Chris' parents 50th wedding anniversary.
That's right- 50 years! It was really fun....

From the front and back

2008-08-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

More house

2008-08-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

Looking from the dining room back towards the front door

The back/side of the house

Relaxing in the window seat in the guest bedroom

Looking back toward the den and front door

The house is starting to look like a house!

2008-08-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

The house is really coming along. Here it is from the front. The areas that are still grey will be where the brick work will be.

We have a front door!

Chris peeking into the den!

The view looking out to the covered patio from the great room.