Cole is 13 months!

I have huge mom guilt that I didn't do the monthly updates on Cole like I did for Nash. Honestly, I just had a really hard time keeping up on the dishes let alone blogging month to month on his milestones. But now!! Now, it is a new day in the Gerke house where I will be able to spend more time at home and keep everyone updated as to more of the day to day changes. 

Cole is now 13 months old and what an amazing kid. He is doing his one legged crawl and taking a few steps here and there, but not officially waking yet. He is the most curious baby I have ever seen. We are about to take the Christmas tree out of the house. He has broken a couple ornaments and tried to pull the tree down. He drags around my Santa and I had some smaller display trees that just ended up in the basement for this year. Whew! He keeps us running and laughing. He is the most friendly and outgoing baby I have ever seen. Loves people and loves people to love him. Nash and Cole are best buds. And Coke now says Nash, dada, mama, kitty. He eats like a 4 year old and loves everything! Last night I fed him a packet of salmon and broccoli and peaches and he cleared his plate! So blessed for this little guy to be in our lives. 

Birthday for Baby Lia

Many of you know that Nash has an imaginary friend, Baby Lia. She attends dance class and apparently today was her 4th birthday. So we made cupcakes to celebrate her big day! Nash insisted that chocolate is her favorite, therefore chocolate is what she must have. 

My heart just melts when he talks about her. 

Cole is 2 months old!

Two months. We are just cruising along and enjoying every minute of being a family of 4. Nash loves being a big brother and the look on Cole's face when Nash is around is priceless. 

Here are this months fun facts:

1. He weighs 14, that's right! 14 lbs. 

2. He's a momma's boy for sure 

3. He giggles and smiles the entire time he's awake. 

4. He's holding his head up so well. Isaac calls him the wobbly cobra. 

5. He's already in size 2 diaps. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! So far it's been a very enjoyable Halloween season. We went to the pumpkin patch, Nash had his preschool parade, we carved pumpkins for the first time and trick or treating! Nash and Isaac were Mavrick and Iceman from Top Gun. Nash was a very appropriate, no nonsense, Iceman. Isaac is always a bit of Maverick. Lia went simple this year since she's just a few days away from having Baby Boy #2! 

Cole is One Month Old

Time really does fly when you're having fun. Or not getting any sleep. 

We have had our sweet Cole for a whole month now and I feel like we are just beginning to adjust. We all love him to pieces and Nash, especially, loves his baby. 

Here are a few tid bits from the first month as a family of 4.

1. The nicknames have arrived! Coler Bear (like polar bear) Cole Baby, Darth Vader (Nash still clings to this name for him), Coley Cole Cole (also Nash's) 

2. The first comment every single person makes about him "look at that hair!" Every. Single. Time. 

3. He started smiling at 3 weeks new! 

4. He wears 3-6 month clothes and they fit like a glove. 

5. He toots like a man.

6. Cuddling is priority number one. 

Nash Starts Preschool!

We are so behind on blogging. I just commented to Isaac that out last blog post was in January and was titled "New year, new commitment to blogging." Pathetic. Anyway, we will probably go back and add posts so the time line matches up. In the mean time; Nash started preschool! 

We are so excited for Nash to be in preschool because his excitement for learning is uncontainable. His teacher is Mrs. Harman and he is in class with his best friend Savi. 

He loves to learn the new letters and Mrs. Harman says that he is a delight to have in class. Here is to a life long learning adventure! 

New year, new commitment to blogging

I'm starting off the year fulfilling one of my many goals for the new year by posting more to our blog. To kick things off, i'm posting our newsletter that didn't get printed in time to get sent out with our Christmas pictures of Nash, mostly meaning that I don't want to pay the exorbitant amount they are charging for color copies these days to have our newsletter printed... but hey! here is the newsletter, reflecting a little on what this year brought us. Enjoy, and look for MANY MORE posts to Jar of Gerkes this year. 


The (Utah) Gerke Family End of Year Newsletter, 2013 Edition.


Hey everyone, it's that time of year! The time to sit and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, the time to build snowmen, but more importantly- the time to catch up on what the Gerkes of Utah have been up to. It has been a real roller coaster of a year, we've each seen a sibling married this year and traveled to be a part of both weddings, we've both changed jobs, celebrated 8 years of marriage and have watched our son grow into quite the interesting character.



Isaac 

Disc golfed until the snow hit the ground, and in 3 different states this year- always taking the opportunity to seek out a local course wherever we were. Isaac picked up cycling and got a nice bike of his own, and is hoping to ride to work on nice days in the coming year. Started the year still working for InfuseMed, designing iPad apps for the medical device industry. Changed jobs in November to explore a new career in User Experience (UX) and Interaction Design for Xactware, a software company based in Orem. Xactware is finishing a large, brand new building in Lehi, (about 10 minutes from our house) and the company will be moving in February 2014. Isaac is loving the new job, really digging into the UX field, and already making a good impression.


Lia

Nothing slows this girl down. Not a two year old wrapped around her leg, or juggling her several work-related commitments with taking care of the boys in her life. Lia continues to help people buy and sell their homes, and design them on the inside. She is currently the Design Center Coordinator at Gough Homes, a local custom home builder. Partly through this year, Lia left Gough to explore an opportunity selling new production homes again- but after leaving, got another offer to come back to Gough under even better terms than before. They love her over there. She is also doing real estate and interior design on the side, as well as being a fantastic mom.. Lia picked up running this year, and has completed three 5k runs! Her goal next year is to conquer the 10k, and start cycling with Isaac too.


Nash

This little guy surprises us every day by how sharp, incredible, and hilarious he is. Well into his "terrible twos", he isn't living up to the stigma at all. Currently he is mastering potty training, and already wears underwear all day, and will get up from naps or sleep to go on his own. He has his own style and for now likes to sit backward when he goes, but hey- whatever works, right? Nash spends 2-3 days a week with a his friend Savannah (Savi), whose mom runs a small daycare out of her home. Nash has a great time over there, which is a great relief to Mom and Dad while they work, that he's in good hands. He has lots of time to play, learn things, do crafts, and sing songs and play games but is always excited to go home too. Nash is very well spoken and will talk your ear off about just about any subject you get him going on, and sometimes surprises people with his little responses and stories. His imagination is growing by leaps and bounds and it has been fun to see him start to pretend, and play more independently. He has loved being introduced to disc golf, and played with Daddy all year. He has his own full-size bag and likes to carry his own gear and some of Dad's from hole to hole, and will play a full 9-hole course no problem. He has a practice target at home, and loves to even watch YouTube videos about disc golf but would much rather be out with Dad, smashing the chains! In fact, Nash pretty much loves anything his dad is into, and loves to rock out and is already asking when he can snowboard.


edit: decided to embed the actual newsletter, if you wanted to see what it would have looked like.