Lily goes to work!

Well, not exactly...but she did go with me to my holiday work party downtown at P&G. Lily was a little angel and was wide eyed for about the first 30 minutes and then zonked out...she apparently had better things to do. :) I had a great time seeing my co-workers and participating in the White Elephant exchange. My gift contribution was $10 in lotto scratch offs and I ended up getting a $10 Chipotle gift card (sorry Bo! - at least the Hannah Montana wig looked nice on you).

Here are a few pictures of Lily's big day at P&G...

Sarah K and Liz holding Lily...

I always thought Bo would look good blond...

This is my desk at P&G...notice that someone wrote a "Welcome Lily" note on my board!

Erin holding Lily-bell!

Getting geared up for the party...

Our Little Movie Star!

This is the first time we've tried posting video of Lily - so hopefully this works! She's quite alert in these videos and I think she's really trying to "talk" to us. :)

Reach for the Stars, Lily!

Lily attended her first author/illustrator speaker yesterday! We went to see Loren Long who is a very cool local illustrator who came to Borders to read and sign his new book, Drummer Boy. His illustrations are priceless - check him out at: lorenlong.com He even illustrated a children's book that Madonna wrote! Lily got to meet Loren and he signed 3 books for her. He said Lily would love a book he's writing now that should be due out next year...about a tractor named Otis. We'll be sure to add it to Lily's library once he finishes it.

When we first got Boomer, he didn't chew many things, but we had a copy of Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" that Long illustrated....and Boomer decided to shred. I had to buy another one and have him sign it. This time, it'll be under lock and key so Boomer can't touch it. :)

Long was very interesting (although Lily decided to sleep!) and talked about the local pictures he added to "Learn'd Astronomer" - pics of the Cincinnati Art Museum, etc. It's neat to look through and actually recognize area places that he drew. He also told us that he added pictures of his dog Stella in "Drummer Boy." He dedicated the book to her ("why not dedicate a book to a dog!?") and included Stella in the manger scene at the very end. Like he said, "I figured dogs could've been at the manger!" Here's a picture of Long with his dog Stella:

It was an interesting afternoon and Lily will enjoy his classic books for many years to come!

I'll Take the Big Boy Platter, Please...

We've taken Lily out to a few restaurants so far, and we took her on her first "fine dining" experience...to...where else!? FRISCH'S - of course! She would've ordered the Big Boy platter, but she was a bit tired and decided to sleep through the whole meal.

However, she did wake up for pictures with the big guy himself...

1 Month Old!

It's hard to believe Lily is over a month old - time has gone by so quickly! She is such a good little baby and we're really enjoying our time with her. She has been a good sleeper too (much to her mom's delight...as I need a lot more sleep than my "I'm fine with 5 hours of sleep" counterpart). Lily typically goes to bed around 9-10 p.m. and then wakes up once about 5 a.m. to eat - and then back to sleep until 8 or 9 a.m. Let's hope this keeps up!

She has also started smiling which is the MOST adorable thing in the world! Her whole face just lights up and I find myself wanting to capture each smile on camera. She also recognizes our voices and will watch and follow us with her eyes.

Happy 1 month birthday (plus a few days!) Lily!

Lily Helps Put Up the Tree!

Well, maybe she didn't exactly help with the tree, but she was bright eyed when we showed her the lights!

Lily has had a very adventurous month of December so far! She has been out and about walking with me quite a bit, attended her very own "Welcome Lily" party, went to dinner at Sarah and Joel's house and hung out with little Ari, attended a cookie exchange, met a bunch of mommy and daddy's friends and got spoiled at grandma and grandpa's house while her parents went out "solo" for the night!

Lily with our good friends Terry & Alicia...

Friends from New York!

Our very good friends Kelly and Joel McFarland came in town over Thanksgiving to visit. They now live in NY but moved to Cincy about 10 years ago for Joel's med school/residency at UC (and I met Kelly when she started working at P&G). I remember Kelly walking around on her 1st day at P&G to meet everyone and I blurted out, "yeah!! a new girl!!!" Kelly and I became great friends from the day we met (I think our first conversation was about playing soccer and wanting to get an indoor team together...and the rest is history!)

They moved to NY last year after Joel decided to do his GI fellowship in Rochester. Happy for them...but bummer for us. We miss them lots. ;) They have 2 of the cutest kids - Cooper and Macy. Lily loved meeting them both and can't wait to visit them soon. She did try to woo them back to Cincinnati by taking them to Skyline (and Cooper experienced his first cheese coney...a hotdog on a bun w/cheese, no chili). We had a great evening...and are looking forward to the trek to NY. And by the way McFarlands...there's a house for sale on Garden Road...just sayin'...in case just for the heckuvit you happen to be looking at houses in the 'Nati... :)

Love and miss you!

A Few Things We Love...

We figured this was as good a time as any to comment on the things we love and are thankful for...especially since Thanksgiving is here. But wait, wasn't it just summer? I feel 87 years old saying this, but time really does fly! Ok...now onto the list (in keeping with our theme, ML loves making lists...lists of things to do, things to buy, what to cook for the week, quotes she likes...the list goes on...)

What I Love...

GCC: Learning more about my partner in crime every day, watching Lily fight falling asleep, Saturdays with nothing to do...Sundays with nothing to do after that Saturday with nothing to do...teaching and coaching, watching my brothers grow up, that feeling of lying down at night knowing you have had a fulfilling, full day...DVR...I know it should go further down the list...but I really really like DVR...chocolate chip muffins....chocolate chip pie....chocolate chip cookies...white chocolate mocha coffee...reading biographies and trying to figure out how that person would be in today's world....debating either side of a topic, no matter which I believe more...sitting with Boomer on the couch while he puts his head back...meeting new people that challenge your views...catching up with old friends who reaffirm your views...loud family dinners....quiet cups of coffee on the porch....finishing a project that you had no business doing, but it coming out right (only have had this once, but I anticipate more).....I really love being a husband and father. I love saying that I'm a husband and father and feel like its weird still. I love thinking about what Lily is going to be interested in, who her friends will be, and how much she is going to torture Boomer. I love Mary Lynn and how she is caring, creative, calming, and cute (had to stick with a "C"). Lastly...I love chances to tell people they are important....so thanks for reading our blog!

ML: My hub Gregory Colin, our sweet Lily-pie, soft baby clothes and blankets (really all things baby!), Boomer, our amazing family (and the best parents/grandparents anyone could ask for!), my next door neighbor and his girlfriend :), Skyline and LaRosa's only being about a minute walk away, soccer, playing soccer, watching soccer, living near Cbus to see the Crew play soccer, the summer, addictive reality shows like The Hills, the Real World, Little People Big World (I want to live on the Roloff Farm), the Challenge, Top Chef, Real Housewives of Orange County...Atlanta...(I want Nene as a friend b/c she cracks me up), my Wild Kingdom girls, my Tremor group at P&G, having time off work with Lily until June!, my friends who have had babies recently and all their amazing advice, rocking chairs, traveling anywhere and everywhere (is it too early to take Lily to Europe?), a good book, Starbuck's grande non-fat white chocolate mocha half-decaf half-reg sometimes with light whip...with a gift card, finding $20 in my jeans that I haven't worn since I was 3 months pregnant, Kenwood mall walking with my mommy friends and our strollers, looong naps even after a full night of sleep, running marathons (definitely NOT the training...more the finishing of a marathon), Thursday night television (does it get any better than Grey's, CSI Vegas and The Office??!) and then reciting memorable Office quotes with Greg - "MYTH: 3 Americans die every year from rabies...FACT: 4 Americans die every year from rabies," the iconic movie "A Christmas Story", finding old friends on FaceBook, reading old journals, writing in a journal, First Watch, goetta, getting fun mail (real postal mail...not just email), and like Greg said...the list could go on and on!

Lily: my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, Boomer giving me dog kisses, clean Pampers diapers (shhh...don't tell anyone we have a pack of Huggies too!), nap time, my swaddle, when daddy comes home from work, looking at lights and hearing my mommy and daddy's voices, "butts-er-cizes" with daddy to get rid of my tummy bubbles, all my new friends, car rides and shopping in my stroller (so far I've been to the Starbuck's drive-thru, the Container store, Baby Gap and many rides on the elevator at Kenwood mall!)

Boomer: my Kong with smooth peanut butter and treats inside, racing around at Otto Armleder park, walks, runs with Uncle Dave and crack of the morning runs with Greg, Dog Park...I mean Deer Park where every dog seems to bark at me as I walk by...but I just stare..., Harley & Bailey and Belle, sleeping on my doggy bed, chocolate chip muffins...right off the countertop!, the whipped cream on top of a french silk pie (again - they left it right on the counter top for me at the Cole's house!), sitting my butt up on the couch, car rides and my favorite new buddy in the whole world...Lily.

Lily gets a Routine

I do routines. I wake up at 5am every morning, eat, exercise, go to school, practice, then come home for dinner, family time and bed. Lily, at the ripe old age of 3 weeks, has established HER routine, albeit much more simplified.

She has grown accustomed to going to bed around 10:30, waking up around 2am and then 6am (although last night she skipped the 2am...no complaints here!). Then she eats, sleeps, watches Boomer, eats, sleeps, does her exercises, eats, sleeps, and goes to bed. What am I missing...oh yea, she goes to the bathroom every hour on the hour. It's amazing.

When feeding she falls asleep. That must come from Mary Lynn's side because no one in the Cole clan has ever missed a meal or become distracted during a meal. We are a very focused family at meal time.

After eating she likes burping, but she loves her "Bubble Exercises" better. Taught to us by the Hellyers, you pump her legs into her stomach and she....makes bubbles, but not with her mouth. I am waiting for her to ask me to pull her finger, but I guess she should realize she has fingers before that happens.

When being held, she doesn't like to be on your shoulder. If you make the mistake of trying to burp her over your shoulder, she will bob her head and move until she is in the middle of your chest, every time.

She has her tummy time twice a day. Boomer is on duty to make sure she stays put. He is also great about sniffing her diaper every minute just in case she went. He hasn't realized that: 1) it only gets dirty once an hour and 2) he doesn't get to play with the old diaper after we change her.

The only other thing she does is get visitors...and she has been lucky to get plenty of those!

Lily Meets Her New Friends

Lily was so lucky and got to meet a bunch of her new friends the other day. They all came over to visit and Lily made sure to put on her pretty butterfly swaddle before meeting her guests.

Lily is a lucky little lady to already have great friends who have amazing parents! Peyton, Jimmy, Evan, Ari and Ethan (her cuz) - thanks for stopping by. We can't wait to play with you again!

What We've Learned From Lily In 2 Weeks!

Happy 2 weeks in this world, Lily! Monday, Nov. 10 marks 2 weeks since you've been born. You have brought us so much joy since you've been born - we look forward to many, many years to come with you.

Although 2 weeks may not seem like a long time, we've already learned quite a lot from you:

* Baby noises are so cute! You hiccup, sneeze (always in pairs!), blow bubbles (out of both ends), and make sweet little sighs and grunting noises while you sleep. You don't cry a whole lot (mommy and daddy are knocking on wood it stays that way!)

* Mommy and daddy no longer have a set schedule - we are on Lily time! We are still able to get things done, but much more slowly, and need to work together as "Team Cole" to take turns holding/burping/feeding/changing you.

* sleep is precious - get it while you can! Many people gave us this advice, but it's true - sleep when Lily sleeps!

* you love being swaddled, but our little Houdini loves getting her arms out and putting them above her head when she sleeps.

* you make some really funny faces - pursing your lips, furrowing your eyebrows, yawning so big it makes everyone else yawn too! We've seen you smile quite a few times too - we've been told it's just a reflex right now, but we know better - you're just a happy little baby. :)

* you love Boomer kisses. While you can't respond as much right now, Boomer loves giving you a couple doggy kisses every day and checking up on you whenever he comes in the room. One day soon you'll be chasing after him, pulling on his ears - and he'll be your buddy!

So many "Lily moments" - so much we have yet to learn about you!