Oh Eggnog, That Sweet Nectar

Time to party it up! Merry Christmas. ehhh. I shouldn't have had that last candy cane....oooh.

It's Box -Colin Update

So I'm enjoying my time in the box, starting to figure out the design features, etc. I toss few toys out of the box. Pretty cool stuff. Soon I want one of the toys I tossed out. I reach over for it. Then, blam, I catch the floor with my face! My first busted lip and there's blood! Ugh! What is that about? The safety rollover feature was not engaged. Mom came over, cleaned me up, and gave me an ice cube. I'm doing better. -Colin out.

It's Box, It's Box...

"It's Box, Box, it's big, it's roomy, it's wood.
It's Box, Box, it's better than bad, it's good!
Everyone wants a Box! You're gonna love it, Box!
Come on and get your Box! Everyone needs a Box!"
-Adapted from Ren and Stimpy's "It's Log".




Many an evening is spent with Colin sitting in his nine
3lbs. bags walnuts box from Costco. He loves being
pushed and pulled around, much like a sled, on the
kitchen floor. Toss in a few toys or let him figure out
the side flap and bang on it, and he's set for a good
20 min or so.

Water Baby

This kid can't get enough of his bath time. He loves splashing and sticking his face in the water. When we are done soaping him up, we hose him down with the shower head. He loves trying to grab the water and shoves his face into the spray. Then he looks up at us like "look at me, I'm so crazy!" And laughs. We are hoping this will translate well when lake season begins next year. We will probably look at baby "swimming" lessons before then.

Baby Dinner Party

Elizabeth and Foster graciously hosted Colin and Grace for a dinner party one evening. They did allow the parents to come. The girls had a great time playing dress up and being chased by Foster. Colin just climbed on things and drooled on toys. He enjoyed watching the older kids.





At dinner, Colin enjoyed his first, and probably last, teething biscuit. It stuck to his face, hands and highchair like tar! I had to "presoak" his face before I could get a layer off. I wonder how they would work as facial masks...ew.

Hoppy Hopperton -doh!

Colin does this hopping on his butt action where it sometimes appears as though he's levitating. It's quite entertaining. He likes hanging upside down, getting dizzy, and hopping up and down. Just part of his action packed day. Here's a video short, because, of course, the time I remember to record him, he's just not so into hopping.

Nelebrating a Nixtieth Birthday

Nixty is apparently the new sixty according to those nearing or turning sixty. I think it's also called nnn-denial, because G'pa Bill T makes 60 look great :).



We celebrated by lounging in AZ by a pool, soaking up the western sun. 'Twas fun to spend time with the fam. Colin did great on the flights. He had his own seat and I think felt more secure in his car seat, esp. when it was time to nap. FYI, Southwest has infant fares -you have to call to make a reservation vs. online! We didn't know until too late. Colin and daddy enjoyed swimmin' in the pool and playing in the waterfall. He smashed only one water glass when we went out to dinner. I didn't move it out of his way in time. Oops. Another table of diners did the same thing awhile later..their's was alcohol, not child, induced.

We also posed for a family portrait. We couldn't get Colin to smile. He was so serious through the whole shoot. All of us are smiling at the camera and Colin has a look like "who are these strangers waving a duck in my face? And, why are we all wearing brown?". At least he wasn't crying. Later, we learned he was dealing with the start of a double ear infection. Poor little dude.



Kelly and AJ were the trailblazers and Bill and I joined them for a hike up Black Rock Mountain in Cave Creek Saturday morning. That kicked my butt! And Kelly was 18 weeks preggers. Way to go, momma! It was a great view of AZ. I didn't make it to the top and decided to wait for them. Then I freaked myself out thinking about snakes. So, I started back up and fortunately met Bill coming down. We continued down and waited for KJ to finish the rest of the hike. If I upload the photo I'm thinking of, I'm pretending to be a saguaro cactus.

The Great Pumpkin is sighted!

For Colin's first Halloween, Shannon got him this wonderfully easy costume. No trick-or-treating this year because he isn't so good with firm foods yet. So instead, we all went to a friend's place to hand out candy, eat pizza and carve some orange squash into jack-o-lanterns.














It was fun watching everyone choose and then carve their pumpkins. We passed since we were fairly busy with our "pumpkin" who was already carved and pretty squirmy all night :-)














Colin did very well at the party and many of the younger trick-or-treaters came up on the porch to see the baby-pumpkin. Colin was wished many "trick-or-treats" by everyone so we have little doubt he'll be all ready and roaring to go next year.

Uh-oh, new toy

So, I come back from a walk (yeah, exercise!) to find Bill and CP on the front porch playing a new game. Oooh, Colin was digging this new toy. However, it may have encouraged the pulling-oneself-up trick #283 in the baby handbook.

The other thing the boys like to do is lean in and head butt each other. As they rub noggins Bill says "I---- love ya!". Then they both giggle. Here they are doing head butting with the laundry basket game.

Pumpkin

We showed Colin his first pumpkin and of course he wanted to look at it in his mouth. I'm pretty sure he did get his soppy face on it, but a little dirt won't hurt.

Amze and Jena were in town for a visit and Rene and Ben's wedding. There were many babies and tots at this wedding. It was fun to have Colin, but weird to think that these folks we knew as kids in college now are "responsible" parents like us! Amze bought Colin a Darth Tater Mr. Potato Head toy. The battle continues between father and spud. It rocks!

Pardon me...

I might be pooping.

I have 7 teeth...

wanna see?

It's been fun teething for the last 2+ months. First, my bottom two teeth came in. Then a week or so later my four top teeth came in right to left in that order. Weird, I know, but that's me. Craaazy Colin comin' atcha! Now, I seem to have slowed down the process now that the third tooth on the bottom showed up. Oh, the drool... I have to say, I think I'm looking quite mature with my new ivories.

Not Quite Crawling

We shot this video a few days ago...Colin hopped right up on his knees and began rocking back and forth keeping his eyes on the prize -the Tower of Blocks! He couldn't quite manage the hand and knee coordination it takes to start crawling. It was more of a rock back and forth, plop down on the belly and reeeeach for the block. These days he's more into doing the breakdance move The Worm in which he rocks back and forth, lurches forward landing on his ab, then back up on his knees, lurches forward to land on his ab, and so on, to finally reach the Tower of Blocks. It's quite amusing. And, we need to get some video of him wrestling with the Boppy Pillow. He rolls all over the pillow and slams himself on top of it. Then we take the pillow and "body slam" him and he's rolling all around kicking the pillow and babbling away. Note: there is a goofy edit to the video. I removed the few seconds my largess is in the shot and blocking the star.

Colin's half-birthday

A little delayed on this post but thought it would be worth it to have Colin's half-birthday party posted. :-)

Almost everyone was there and cousin Zoe helped Colin blow out the half of one candle grandma put on his #20 Tony Stewart, Home Depot, Toyota Camry-cake. Shannon and aunt Christine evidently saw the cake at the Country Market (grocery store) and had, to not only buy it, but have it personalized for the occasion.

We weren't sure if Colin knew the significance of the cake but the rest of us sure did (one-half win is all Tony Stewart could manage this season) :- (

1st Airplane Ride

Yes, frankly, I'm nuts. I decided that since Bill was traveling for work, Colin and I would fly to see my family for the weekend. When it came time to plan the trip, what to pack, etc. I was a complete stress ball. Fortunately, Aunt Kathy gave us a ride to the airport and I could focus on making sure Colin and I were ready for this next adventure. He did the best he could on both flights there and back. He did fuss and cry, but only when he knew it was time for sleep and the airplane did not resemble his crib. He did finally fall asleep both times and we survived!

The visit was fun. We saw Tracey, Dan and Donna for lunch at their new home. Kelly and AJ hosted dinner at their new home. Colin tried out some new baby toys for when Baby Bean arrives. Aunt Anita made Colin a NASCAR Build A Bear, and yes, his name is 'Tony'. And, we just hung out. Colin enjoyed watching Gpa Bill wash the cars in the driveway as it involved water and the spray hose.

We did have some excitement as firetrucks showed up at the neighbor's house. A kitchen towel apparently caught fire over a burner that had been left on while the owner went out for a pontoon ride. Fortunately, a bike rider noticed the smoke and called 911.

Lake Week 2.0

Shannon's family spent a week with us at the lake house. Great weather, except for a little rain. Cousins Mitch and Will took to wake boarding. Aunt Kathy showed that she still has what it takes to waterski! And most exciting was Kelly and AJ's announcement that they are expecting in March. Yeah, a baby bean in 2009. Poor Kelly was feeling as cruddy as I did in the first trimester. And Colin was teething for two days putting on a good show for what to expect when expecting! Yikes! Tooth #2 has since popped through and he was much more pleasant for the remainder of the week.

That's FIERCE!

Cousin Zoe had Colin in some fierce fashion during Lake Week. Here he is sporting two types of plaid, stripes, and a bib (a summer, or drooler, must have!). Eat your hearts out, NYC and Paris.

Lake Week 1.0

Colin enjoyed his very first Lake Week at the lake house. Bill and I even went home for two days for work while Colin stayed at the lake with everybody. He enjoyed swimming and learned about sun safety -hat, cool shades and sunscreen.

Since it was vacation, we threw caution to the wind and the family created a new routine for Colin. He likes a jog before his nap. Now answers to Connor and Caleb. Enjoys a shot of Jack in his evening bottle. Cries when he's not wearing plaid and stripes (see next post). Likes squash with a dash of hot sauce. Farts when angry (if only he'd poop). Has a disdainful attitude toward anyone playing Guitar Hero on EASY. Sleeps best when left alone out in the bonus room. Sinks when dropped in the lake (he's NOT a witch!), and lastly, the family apologized for the tattoo, it seemed like a good idea at the time. -list courtesy of Aunt Jennifer.

"They're Coming To Take Me Away -Oh No!"

Exersaucer -overdoser

We picked up an exersaucer for Colin after we saw that he liked playing in the one Cousin Trevor brought to Gma Mary's family reunion. It's been a great addition to the things that keep him busy while we eat dinner, read the mail, or what have ya.
We wonder if these things add to A.D.D. It's hilarious to watch Colin focus on one item in the exersaucer only to turn his head to the right and be surprised that there's another item of interest. He swivels a bit to reach the new toy. Once again, he turns his head to the right and ta-da another new toy! Round and round he goes... pretty funny. Then he's bored and wants out.

Mm Mm Good

Colin is trying out a new menu every night. Last week it was veggies and rice cereal. This week, fruits and oatmeal. He seems to tolerate everything we've put in front of him. Oh my, he likes food! We think he might be a little constipated this evening so we tried some applesauce to see if we can get things moving along. Daycare has the greenlight to give him babyfood that we leave for him as well. He's such a big boy.
And, this weekend he cut his first tooth! The one on the bottom started showing up on Saturday morning when we were out with Matt, Megan and Lil' Henry. Then Colin was crab for the rest of the day. By Sunday evening things seemed to have settled down and he keeps running his bottom lip over the tooth. It's a funny expression. Here are some photos of Colin enjoying his dinner.

Tiss-ue! LOL!

Here is some video from last week when Shannon was playing with Colin one evening and he just starts laughing, after the 'shock & awe' starts to subside, we look at each other and both literally say, "Camera!"

So here are some of Colin's very first real laughs... from the camera I was thinking of not the one Shannon was (that one doesn't have sound...)

He is such a happy little boy. Enjoy!

2nd Trip to the Lake House

The second trip to the Lake House was a little more eventful because they have had enough warm weather to bring water and air temperatures into the normal seasonal ranges.

We took young Mr. Colin out and about quite a bit more this visit. So far he LOVES being outside and the limited sun but unlimited wind didn't seem to bother him. Here's a nice moment with Colin and Shannon hanging out on the hammock, they were having a great time swinging out there with all of the wind, just laughing their heads-off!

Colin - 2, Daddy - 0

During bath a few nights back we were just beginning nighttime routine and getting Colin into his bath when THIS happened. Since the score is now "2" you may ask what was Colin's first score, which is certainly a fair and reasonable question.

Please consider the following: it happened when he was only a few weeks old and it had more to do with 'number 2' than this #2 actually does.

Needless to say the shock and awe surrounding the whole experience prevented me from capturing the incident digitally.

Rolling Over

This weekend, Colin swung his leg over and was well on his way to rolling over; however, his left arm was tucked up under him and he was stuck. I nudged him a little bit and over he went. He was a bit surprised to be on his belly lifting his head to look up.

Later, Colin once again swung his leg over and this time his arm was out of the way and he rolled right over onto his tummy and then back again onto his back. We repeated the process to make sure it wasn't by accident. He did it again. Of course, when Bill grabbed the camera Colin decided just to roll around vs. really rolling over. The above pictures are just him rolling around. The pee filled diaper, having added to his weight, may have altered his aerodynamics in trying to roll over successfully.

This morning, Colin was up a bit early making some fussing noises. Bill went in to check on him and he had rolled over on his own in his crib. So, Colin has rolled over at 17 weeks! Again, the smartest and cutest baby, ever!

Such Talent!

Colin is preparing for his new Vegas act at Caesar's Palace. Having mastered choking on his own spit (a trait inherited from his mother's side), Colin will now attempt to put his entire hand in his mouth...
Ta Da! It's a rare talent, we know.

Thunderstorms!

Very strong thunderstorms swept through overnight. I thought for sure Colin would wake up with a jolt from the loud claps of thunder. We even had a power blip that had the CO2 detector chirpping. Aside from a few tosses and turns, he slept right through the night. We might have to credit the Sleep Sheep which we set on 'Rain' to help lull Colin to sleep at night. He didn't seem to be phased a bit by the storm. Of course, I was up half the night waiting for him to wake up.

We drove through some heavy rain this morning on the way to daycare. Colin watched the rain hit the back window, but he didn't appear to be distraught. I sang songs to keep some normal noise in the car. He was chit chatting as he does before he's ready to crash for a nap.
Tomorrow is his 4 month check up!

1st Trip to the Lake House

Although it felt like we were packing for a month long trip, Bill was able to fit everything in the car for our first trip with Colin to the Lake House. Colin did very well on the way there and back. He did get bored and cranky the last 20-30min both ways and it took a lot of singing of songs, rattling of rattles, and crinkling of crinkle books to keep him distracted. We learned several lessons of what to make sure and pack for the car ride, not just the final destination.

It was very windy at the lake. Fortunately, the sun was out. Colin enjoyed time with his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Here he is with aunt Sarah. Bill dipped Colin's feet in the lake and the poor little guy cried -the water was still quite chilly. Cousin Zoe went swimming, the cold water didn't stop her!

Memorial Weekend

Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins -oh my! Family descended upon us for Memorial Weekend. Mom, Anita and I enjoyed an afternoon at the spa getting salt scrub body treatments. Nice! Dad and Bill worked on front yard landscaping and hunted for the buried line to run electric to a new light post. We also celebrated Mitch's H.S. graduation -John and Kathy hosted a great party and the weather was perfect.

Bill took these photos of Colin and his grandpa spending some time together.

I'm Crazy Hat Man -Gimme Some Candy!

Yes, we always have the camera at the ready.

Colin is 14 weeks today. He's starting to grab at things. He enjoys kicking. And, he's very close to finding his thumb. Is this kid brilliant or what?

All Smiles

Sorry, these are blurry. Colin was laughing and wiggling all over in his bouncy seat. Such a happy baby...