one year ago (almost to the day) mr cole-train came in to my life.  we are friends.  we share mashed potatoes, pizza and an intense love for shoes.  not to mention our unconditional love for his amazing mama and daddy.   (hey rif and taylor)  i am so blessed to have him and his family for friends.  they live in los angeles and i will do anything…anything to go down and spend some time with them.  so cole (with mama’s help) made it happen and i left dreary cold seattle for a sunny warm day on the cali coast.  i feel so unworthy of their love.

as we wandered around, i wanted to make a special gift for cole to help him remember the day, the place where he spent his younger years and his name.  threw that last one in there because i ran out of things i wanted him to remember.  go with it.

cole is a ball of giggles.  and action.  peek-a-boo seems to be his favorite game and mama his favorite person.  so peek-a-boo behind mama almost seemed to make him explode with joy.

you have no idea how hard it was to get a shot like this.  not that it is amazing or anything, but he is sitting still.  and serious.  between his constant movement and forever smiles, this was like spotting bigfoot.

bowl cut bangs + cole = overdose of adorable.  usually, the only other persons that can pull this off are jim carrey (think dumb and dumber) and my brothers in the late eighties.

i know i have said this before but i love a mom that isn’t worried about puddles.  or air-jordan-like shoes getting wet minutes before they meet sand.  or jumping in the puddles herself just to get him to.

or just a mom that gets her one year a greater shoe collection than most twenty year old women in general.

we wandered around all afternoon, coley and i did.  he showed me all sort of things about the magical santa monica pier.  i had never been there before but doubt i would have discovered the awesome sounds the wood makes when you pound on it.  or how pigeons have no spatial awareness and prefer to just eat your food right off the plate in front of you.  and i’m sure i wouldn’t  have figured out that kelp makes for the most beautiful necklaces.  if you can run super fast from the seagulls.  if.

most stylish kid EVER.

cole…i am so glad we got to spend our one year anniversary of knowing each other together.  you light up the world with your big toothy grin, your amazing wardrobe and your sweet open mouth kisses.  i love you so and i can not wait to see you again.  march would be good for me…you come this way.  and bring mommy.  and grape laffy taffy.