The McElroy Family

12/04/07: We had our first words!!!! Michael & I were at a church Christmas party last night & my dad called, saying he thought
Cole was saying Dada. We figured he was just putting syllables together & didn't think much of it. We got home & had
everyone be quiet (no coaxing!). Cole looked at Michael, smiled and said "Dada!" and reached for him! It was sooooo cute!
So mark it down: While he was still 6 month's old, Cole said his first words! Yeh!

We also had our first snow. While it wasn't much, a sniffling Cole enjoyed his
30 seconds outside - rosy red cheeks & all!

We also had our first meeting with Santa at Christmas. Cole didn't cry or
anything. He just looked at us like, I'm suppose to believe in this guy?
Puh-lease. We have a feeling he'll be getting what he wants for Christmas,
though.

No holiday season would be complete without Nana's pictures! Nana had a
whole studio set up at her house. I think in the bottom right picture he may
be saying, "One more picture, and the reindeer are gettin' it."

Cole hung his first decoration on Meemee's tree. I'm sure it's the first of
many. We have a train that goes around the tree and he loves it. Of
course, that's in between episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but,
nonetheless, he loves it.

Cole spends most of his time these days entertaining us. He's just the
best baby. When he cries, we all pay attention because it's so rare! He's
usually squealing and laughing, oohing, and ahhing.

His room at the new house is coming right along. We have cabinet doors
hung and paint on some walls. It's looking like a house now!

We'll leave you with a few shots of Cole doing what he does best -
hamming it up!

12/19/07: Cole has seen Santa plenty of times just to make sure he gets what he wants. He never cries. He just looks at this
odd guy in a red furry outfit and thinks Mom & Dad are crazy for allowing such an odd fellow to kidnap him for 30 or so seconds
to take a picture. Memories... :)

Uncle Don & Aunt Jo came down to visit for the church Christmas dinner. Cole & Uncle
Don look like they're up to something mischievous. Poor ol' Aunt Jo. Who knows what
they're up to...

We went to Mister Gene's for dinner last night. He even made Cole mashed potatoes!

Cole had fun playing with
his toys and chillin' with
Mister Gene.

Cole's become quite a
little flirt with the girls at
church. He smiles at them
all the time but doesn't
really care about the boys
so far. He likes hugs from
Maggie and smiles at
Micah (bottom left).
Sorry, Wyatt. We know
you'll be best friends one
of these days!

For all those who have
been asking, Cole's not
crawling yet. He scoots
and rolls until he ends
up where he wants &
seems just fine with that
right now. He can get
up on all fours but
doesn't really know what
to do from there. He
likes ALL food except
peaches and loves his
high chair. His favorite
place to eat is Blue
Moon. He smiles at

Pam and Gina the waitresses.
They all come over to see him
when he comes in.

We had planned to teach Cole
sign language, but we have no
problem knowing exactly what he
wants. "MMMMM!" with arms
flapping is "mommy, get me!"
Several grunts in a row is
"bottle." One grunt is "baby food,
please." (I added the "please").
He has tons of happy sounds
that I just can't spell :)

Updated 12/26/2007: Poor little
Cole was sick for most of his
Christmas. He had (and has) a
horrible cold that just seems to
hang on. He did get to enjoy lots
of his presents, though. We
snapped a few shots in between
coughs.

It all started at Papa and Nana's
house with lots of good presents
from Papa and Nana and from
siblings and in-laws Jeff and
Annette and their children
Rachel, Cameron and Shane and
Robbi and Dwayne and their
children Dillon, Chelsea, and
Zach.

Cole seemed to have more fun
eating the packages than
opening them. But, he eventually
got the hang of it.

Cousins from left to right are
Rachel, Cameron, Shane, Cole,
Dillon, Chelsea, and Zach.

Cole's personality is developing more and more.
He's very independent and a little stubborn. He
loves his mommy and if he doesn't want to leave
my arms he lets others know! He's curious
about everything and likes to know how things
work. He's officially 19 pounds and 29 inches -
still in the 90th percentile on height.

He tolerates Mommy dressing him up. He got all
dressed up for Christmas Sunday. He looked
soooo cute (if I do say so myself) and I think he
thought so too. Below (left to right) are Grandpa
and Grandma, Mommy & Daddy, and Poppy and
Meemee.

At Christmas Eve at the McNeill's, Cole
wasn't feeling too well so we didn't as
many pictures as normal. But, we did
capture these cute shots of Cole and his
new (one of several) riding toy. He loves
it and wants to be pushed around
everywhere! He was surrounded with
presents and family (Poppy and
Meemee, Grandpa and Grandma, Becky
and Rice, Heather & Gavin, and Mommy
and Daddy).

We hope you had a Merry Christmas! I
hear some of you out there are website
stalkers... C'mon! Sign up on the home
page for site alerts. We like to know you
care.

Updated 2/4/2008: Happy 9 month birthday to Cole! Nine
Months! That's crazy! The time sure has flown - especially this
month. He's learned so much during his eighth month of life. He
can clap, wave, peek around corners, has 2 teeth, and can crawl.
Whew! All that in a month's time!!!

We just got back from Springdale to see Aunt Becky. Cole had a
great time & was mesmerized the whole trip by his Mickey Mouse
on the DVD player in the van. Yes, I know I said I would never
have a DVD player in the car for my child, but, well, it keeps him
quiet! I take it all back :)

He loves baths & gets Meemee's kitchen all wet by splashing.
When I get him undressed & run the water, he starts flapping his
arms & kicking his legs in excitement.

He's not to sure about tub baths yet, but that's okay. He gets an
audience by staying in the sink.

He's also learned to throw tantrums. I think we may be in the terrible twos a
little early. He decided yesterday that he didn't want to be covered with a
blanket in the car & kicked it off. I told him "No." He then proceeded to look at
Mommy & throw his fit which included screaming, prompted by Aunt Heather
(thanks, a lot, Heather). Well, Mommy still won.

Cole really does have a great personality & loves being with people. Even his
little fit was filled with uncontrollable smiles. He loves TV just like his Daddy.
He also loves to play outside. George is his favorite doggie and he could
care less about Lucy the poodle.

He's been a little sick this month, too. He got Fifths Disease around the 22nd
of January and the horrible cold that goes with it. His sniffles are almost over
& the rash is gone. I was too worried at the doctor's office to remember his
height and weight (sorry).

Be sure to check out updates of our house while you're here! The house is
coming along great. We have paint up and tile is going in right now. It
shouldn't be long! We gave the camera a little rest since Christmas, but look
for new pictures soon! Check out Debra's page for more pictures.

10 month update: Our little Cole's had a sick month. We took him to the doctor
(he weighed 20 pounds 3 ounces) and they did a test for the flu. Sure enough,
he had it. He did pretty good though. We wore the TV out with Mickey Mouse
and Little Einstein's. On one particular morning, we covered him up with lots of
blankets and turned on Mickey. He stayed like that for a long time!

Cole has 3 1/2 teeth now. I say 1/2
because his top right tooth is just
popping through. He's figured out he
can use them for all kinds of things, but
the funniest is watching him figure out
how to hold his mouth. He often looks
like a little bulldog with his lower lip
stuck out. Earlier in the month he got to

Whoever is holding him when the music comes on better watch out. He starts
jumping and going crazy. He's pulling up & will walk, uh, I mean dance soon. He
loves music. He beats a perfect rhythm on the floor with a toy bowling pin and
then switches to the carpet, then back to the hard wood floor, then to the
up-side-down bowl. We have a future drummer on our hands. This month we

April 14: 11 Month Update:
Cole's had a sick month, although he only acted sick for 1 day. He
came down with strep throat, but he seemed to kick it in no time! He
now has 4 1/2 teeth & loves making noises. Here he is with Papa
exchanging loud noises on Papa's birthday.

March 21: Lots of new pictures are under Baby Cole's page! Be
sure to check them out. Consider this a 10 1/2 month update.
Cole's learned to drink out of a straw. The funny thing is, he's
scared of sippy cups so we've gone straight from a bottle to a
regular cup. He has 4 teeth now & is in his new home. This picture
at left is in front of our fireplace. I promise I'll get pictures of the
house up soon. Who knew we had so many boxes to unpack? Cole
can say Dada (still) and say Bye Bye when he's in the mood. He
also can imitate the kitty cat's Meow from his touch & feel book. He
loves music and, while he rarely gets fussy, all I have to do is sing to
him & he stops. What a good baby!