Cole is exactly 18 months old today! I can hardly believe it-where has the time gone?
Cole’s personality is really starting to shine. I noticed a few months ago, he is a little comedian. He loves to make people laugh. If he hears one of us laughing he’ll try to copy whatever we were just doing, to keep us laughing. One of the big ways he gets laughs is he’ll take the kitchen towel off the oven rack, cover his head with it, and then walk around the house, until we say, “Who is that little ghost?” or “Where’s Coley?” Then he’ll rip the towel off his head, giggles abounding.
He also loves books. He’ll sit and look at books for fifteen minutes at a time, no one reading to him- he’ll just study the pictures.
Like most 18-month old, he adores Thomas. Whenever we turn on a Thomas DVD, he starts bouncing around and dancing. He also likes music, and songs, and sings along in his own little babbling, to most songs.
Cole can say, Da-da,” and “Mama” right now. I have heard him say, “no,” “bye,” and “water,” but he doesn’t say those consistently yet.
He certainly has a mind of his own. His grandmother pointed out the other day, that when he doesn’t want to do something, he is as stubborn as they come! That is so true!
As much as he is stubborn though, he gives at least 100% more back in his love. He will hug us constantly throughout the day, for no reason. He’ll just come up to me and want a hug and a kiss, and then he’ll be back off to whatever he was doing. He absolutely lights up when he sees the people he loves, and he starts shrieking with joy and excitement. His love and attitude rubs off on me. I find when I am away from Cole for a few hours, I really start to miss him, and I need a hug from him.
I was thinking about how much love Cole has in his heart the other day, and it dawned on me that no one has ever shown me that much open affection in my entire life. My parents were pretty affectionate and always told us they loved us, and Joe and I are affectionate, but Cole can take his affection and love, and just run with it, and he doesn’t hold anything back.
During the first year of his life, which was difficult since he was a high-needs baby, sitting up with him at all hours of the night, I often wondered why I had this particular child, what was he here to teach me, and what was I supposed to learn from him?
I am sure I will keep discovering more answers to these questions, but after having my Coley for a year and a half, I know I had him to teach me about love- he teaches me that it is okay to be open and free with affection and love, every day. He teaches me that even during the hardest, darkest times, the sun will shine again, and it comes out even brighter and more beautiful than before.
I believe that we are all born with that free, unrestricted love, but because of what life throws at us, it gets buried in us, and can be very hard to find again. Cole has taught me that it is worth the effort to find that- after all, he shows it to me every day in his smile, his hugs, and kisses. He truly is a special gift- a gift of love.
Happy 18 months, Coley! I can’t wait to keep learning from you, and I love you with all my heart!