He did it!

Colton started walking! We’re so proud of him. He’s been steady on his feet for a while now and he liked to cruise around, but he just wasn’t quite ready to let go and walk. But that changed when he decided to go after his little toy school bus.

This video is from his second day of walking. After a good nap and a snack, he decided it was time to take a tour of the new kitchen.

To think, 7 months ago, the kids were this little…

Adelyn is 3 years, 3 months old and Colton is 14.5 months old.

Monthly Update – 1 year old!

Colton is 1 year old!

Can you even believe it?!?! Where has the past year gone? I still think of Colton as my wee little infant. My tiny boy who doesn’t crawl or climb or eat people food. He’s my baby, and he’ll stay that way forever. Except he really is a one year old. He climbs and pulls up and crawls and jabbers and shrieks and eats like a hungry little horse.

At 1 year old, Colton:

• Still takes 1-2 naps a day. Goes to bed between 7-8pm, depending on his last nap. He sleeps through the night (for the most part) and wakes happy in his crib. He still puts his hands up to head head when he’s tired and I.love.it. So sweet and endearing.

• Has 5 teeth, plus a couple more that have almost poked through. This teething business is for the birds though… no one likes cutting teeth. They do make chomping up food a lot easier though.

Addy took this picture of Colton and I absolutely love it. I crack a smile everytime I see it. 🙂

• Speaking of food, he’s a huge eater. He prefers to feed himself and alternates between using his pincer fingers and entire fist to shovel food into his little mouth. No food has been rejected, although this absolute favorites are cheese, noodles and strawberries, and his least favorite appears to be cottage cheese (isn’t that a type of cheese, lil man???). He only nurses once a day, right before bed.

Such a good boy, cleaning out his bowl.

• Crawls with his tummy off the ground except when he wants to go super fast, then it’s back to army crawling.

Likes to climb into/onto/under things. He is an active boy for sure. Doesn’t like to sit still for long! He has figured out how to climb into a tunnel at the park, into the laundry basket, into my cupboard. He pulls himself to standing in his crib, on his pooh bear train, and most recently, he climbed onto Addy’s little green chair. Both feet, up on the chair. Nearly gave me a heart attack, seeing him balanced there..

• Loves to snuggle. People or animals (stuffed or real… watch out cats, he’s coming for you!), they’re all perfect snuggle buddies. He can dish it out or take it. And, same as always, he adores his sissy.

• Loves our inflatable pool. Coat him with sunscreen, give him a hat and a toy (or the hose) and he’ll be content for a loooong time.

Splash.

• And as always, he’s the happiest boy I know. I think he gets it from his Daddy. 🙂

• Nicknames this month include: Bear, Bearson, Bear Bear, Foosa, Foosa bear

Adelyn is 3 years, 3 weeks old and Colton is 1 year old.

Monthly Update – 11 mos old

Colton is 11 months old!

Well, uh… I haven’t done a monthly update for Colton in 3 months. I’m ashamed. These past few months have been filled with change for him and I haven’t been doing a very good job of keeping up with it. {{2nd child stereotype fulfilled.}}

::sigh:: But here we go!

At 11 months old, Colton:

• Takes 1-2 naps a day, depending on what time he wakes up in the morning. Goes to bed between 7-8pm, depending on his last nap. He still wakes up 1-2 times a night, but as of tonight, we are knocking those out. No more night feedings! We are slowly starting to wean…

• Has his four front teeth. Those top ones are massive! I remember thinking the same thing when Addy got her top front ones… “How can baby teeth look so big?!”. It’s no wonder he was a cranky bear when they were breaking through his gums (and, boy, was he cranky). He had a very tough time sleeping for about a week at the beginning of April as the teeth came through. He “nursed” (I use quotations because he didn’t really eat, he just wanted the comfort) every 1.5-2 hrs at night and ended up sleeping in our bed on a couple of occasions – a first for him.

{{After a rough couple of nights.}}

• Loves eating. Seriously, this kid could eat all day. He’s a slow eater, but has yet to reject anything we’ve put in front of him. He’s an avocado aficionado, enjoys corn on the cob and limes! He nurses 4X a day, but as I mentioned above, we are starting the weaning process. I’m going to miss feeling his foot turning in circles against my arm as he lays there.

{{Corn is a good teething toy.}}

{{So is a carrot.}}

{{Don’t forget about ice cream!}}

Loves to use his pincer fingers to feed himself cheerios, cheese, ham, banana, noodles, anything!

• Has hair that is getting longer and wilder. It is getting so long, it’s even starting to curl. I wonder if I let it grow out if it would be as curly as Addy’s??

{{Hair at the beginning of March.}}

{{Hair at the beginning of May.}}

Colton has even tried his hand at styling his hair a few times.

• Has incredible blue eyes that people can’t help but comment about.

• Went swimming for the first time at the end of February and had a blast kicking in the water. He’s a real little fishy.

• Loves to play with everything from boxes, to trains, to footballs.

{{He’s a natural with that football!}}

He got a bit too excited about his foam football and did this to it with his teeth, though:

• Also a huge fan of the park and slides…

…bathtime…

…sprinkler time…

…playing peek-a-boo…

…and swinging, especially when Addy pushes him.

{{Look at the concentration.}}

• Really, he loves anything to do with his sister. There have been a few incidents of hair pulling (non-intentional on his part) and toy-taking that have resulted in tears and screams, but that’s what having siblings is all about, right??

I think the feeling of love is mutual.

• Is a very happy boy but he can pierce your eardrums when he’s angry or frustrated. Seriously, he screams. Don’t you dare take a toy away from him! He is bossy like his sister (and, let’s face it, they get it from their Momma), and he’s not afraid to let you know what he thinks.

{{Happy…}}

{{Happy…}}

{{Tantrum!}}

• Army crawls, pulls up to his knees, and has figured out how to go from lying down to sitting upright. And he is so proud of his accomplishments! All this mobility has definitely given him an independent streak, and he no longer has time to sit still. Time to change a diaper? I don’t think so.



• Trills his tongue, makes lots of noises and he says “Mamamama”, but no “Dada” yet. He loves his Daddy though! Other forms of communication include shrieks, squeals and screams. Loud ones, so he can get your attention. He’s a noisy boy. 🙂



{{Trilling his tongue.}}



{{My boys, after destroying a box of kleenex.}}

• Nicknames this month include: Bear, Bear Bear, Foosa, Foosa bear

Adelyn is 2 years, 11.75 months old and Colton is 11 months old.

Because it’s Friday…

…the kids and I went to Chilis for a lunch date! And guess what? It was really fun! The kids were well behaved and had a great time, probably because we were doing something different from our usual routine. And because it’s different from our usual routine, I was surprised at the number of parents who were doing the same thing. At least 3 other tables had one parent and 1+ kids. Glad to know I’m not the only crazy one who goes out to lunch with the kids solo. 🙂

{{My little lunch dates}}

After our yummy lunch, the day just kept getting better. We picked up ice cream from Dairy Queen! {{Do I get a “Mom of the Year” Award or what?! Addy says “YES”. Also, this was Colton’s first taste of ice cream, so I think he would nominate me for the award too.}}

Let’s let Colton tell you what he thought about the experience.

“It’s cold!”

“Okay, so it’s cold. I’m a big boy, I can handle it.”

“Here goes nothing…”

“Alright, not bad. Not bad.”

“Look at Addy, enjoying her Dilly bar over there.”

“Sure, I’ll have some more, thanks for offering.”

“Man, what a mess.”

“Hey, so, uh, where’s my ice cream, woman?”

“What do you mean the ice cream’s gone?!”

Remember Addy’s first experience with DQ ice cream? There’s just something about it…

Adelyn is 2 years, 11 months and Colton is 10 months, 1.5 weeks old.

Monthly Update – 8 mos old

Colton is 8 months old!

{{Check and respect those eyes. And eyelashes. All thanks to Daddy!}}

Soooo, there are 4 months left until my baby is a 1 year old?! I need to start planning his first birthday party, stat. Pinterest, here I come!

Colton is a good boy, plain and simple. He’s a happy, sweet, and cuddly little man who enjoys snuggling as much as he enjoys “wrassling” with Daddy and sister. He’s the most easy-going baby I know. We are so lucky!

At 8 months old, Colton:

• Usually takes just 2 naps a day, morning and afternoon. Sometimes I even manage to get the kids to sleep at the same time during the afternoon naps! Goes to bed around 7pm. Wakes +3 times a night. (Can’t wait until he pulls off a solid night of sleep. I think it’s been about a year since I’ve had a solid 8 hrs of uninterrupted shut-eye…) Super cute habit of his? Colton only gets his pacis at naptime or bedtime, and as soon as the paci is in his mouth, one (or both) of his hands go straight up to his head to feel his hair. Without fail, paci in, hands go up. Presh.

• (Also sleep related) wakes up happy in his crib. He’s content to play and talk to himself in there. He likes to roll around the crib too. I often find him perpendicular to the length of the crib (I don’t know how he fits… he’s longer than the width of it).

• Is content to sit and watch the world (or mostly watch his sister… because she sure is entertaining. He just loves sissy). He’s not crawling yet, but he doesn’t mind being on his tummy now and stretches reaaaallly far to reach toys.

• Is an eating machine. So far Colton has tried carrots, peas, squash, sweet potato, avocado, pears, apples and bananas. Not a huge fan of the avocado or peas, but we’ll keep trying. Next up – meat!

• Is a goofball. He likes to lean all the way back in his highchair, tipping his head over the back edge. We went out to lunch the other day and Colton leaned back, tipped his head back and stared at the table behind him, upside down, for about a solid minute and a half. The people at that table thought it was hilarious.

• Loves the jenny jump up and doesn’t stop bouncing when he’s in it. He’s even started to bounce towards the door frame and hold on tight

• Is getting to be pretty vocal. He squeals, shrieks or screams (sometimes happily, sometimes angrily… he tells us when he’s frustrated. If you take something away from him when he’s still playing with it, he can get angry.) Says “Ba ba ba”, “Ma ma ma” “Da da da”.

• Enjoys “reading” (code for either patting or chewing on the book)

{{Side note: Addy’s bedhead is a force to be reckoned with.}}

• Drives a car like a boss.

• Nicknames this month include: Bear, Bear Bear

Adelyn is 2 years, 8.75 months old and Colton is 8 months, 2 days old.

Monthly Update – 7 mos old

Colton is 7 months old!

I missed the 6-month monthly update for Colton, so I should have lots to tell y’all!  I weighed him the other day and he was 17.8 lbs, so by the time he visits the Dr. next week for his 6 month well-child checkup (a bit backwards, I know), he may just have broken 18 lbs! My big boy. 🙂

Colton can roll both directions, but he rarely rolls onto his tummy. If he can reach a toy by staying on his side and stretching his arms as far as he can, he will. And then he rolls back onto his back. He spends most of his day sitting up and playing with his toys that way, he finds it much easier. Can’t blame him! He now OFFICIALLY has one tooth broken all the way through his gums (bottom left center), with the second tooth right about to cut through (bottom right center). I can see at least two other teeth on the bottom just sitting there, ready to make the lil’ man’s gums hurt when they decide to finally emerge.

Right before Thanksgiving, we fed him his first bites of “solid” food and he went nuts for it. He ate rice cereal and oatmeal for a while, but after a couple episodes of projectile vomiting, we stopped giving him anything. We waited about two weeks before offering him anything to eat, and when he was practically attacking us to get to our food, we started giving him some veggies. First came carrots, then peas, and most recently butternut squash. He is loving the squash.

{{Side note: I’ve been making his baby food and I’ve found an easy way to do it. I cook up and puree a big batch at a time, and then freeze the mixture in an ice cube tray. Then, once the veggies are frozen, I pop them all into a ziplock baggy labeled with the date and the type of veggie. Perfect serving sizes! I just grab one or two of the frozen blocks of veggies and defrost them when we have dinner.}}

Since Colton was doing great with the veggies, we reintroduced a very small amount of oatmeal at lunchtime on Sunday. He kept it down, so I think we’ll be slowly re-introducing rice cereal to make sure his tummy can handle it. Originally we wondered if it was a food sensitivity that caused all the spit ups and projectile vomiting, but now I think his system was just overloaded with too much of a new thing. Anyway, he loves to eat and loves to use a sippy cup like a big boy.

At 7 months old, Colton:

• Still takes 2-3 naps a day, although it’s dropping more towards the “2x a day” side. Morning naps are usually pretty long (2+ hrs), and afternoon naps are shorter. Goes to bed between 7-8pm, depending on his last nap. He has been waking up a lot at night recently. Probably due to teeth, but it might also be due to tummy gas pains from the veggies.

• Isn’t nearly as scared around strangers as he was even a month ago.

• Loves solid food and drinking from a sippy cup! Still nurses every 3-4 hrs during the day and at night.

• Is a little daredevil who enjoys riding his horsey bareback.

• Loves our cats. He likes to grab their fur when they’re nearby.

• Has a trademark expression for when he’s studying something intently – eyebrows up, mouth slightly open.

• Enjoys a good cup o’ joe before starting his day.

• Loves to “wrassle” with Daddy and Adelyn.

• Is an oil man, just like his Daddy. Loves the pump jacks!

• Is the handsomest (and happiest) boy in the whole wide world! 🙂

• Nicknames this month include: Bear, Bear Bear

Adelyn is 2 years, 7.75 months old and Colton is 7 months old.

Food, glorious food.

I’ve come to the realization that I no longer have a newborn. You’re thinking, “Duh Lindsay. Colton is 5 months old.”

Sure, I know he rolls over and likes to sit up and talks to his sissy. But he’s still my little newborn! I only had him last week! Err, right…

Tonight? My eyes were opened to the truth.

Tonight? My youngest child ate rice cereal.

Let me try that again.

My youngest child ate rice cereal. And LIKED it.

I’m talking full-out, mouth-open-like-a-baby-bird, trying-to-reach-for-the-spoon, liked it.

::Sniff::Waaaaaahhhhh!

Colton is 5 months old. I wanted to wait until he was 6 months before introducing “solids” (the rice cereal concoction we whipped up was more of a liquid), but because he hasn’t been sleeping well at night, we decided to go ahead and at least try it out. Maybe he’s just hungry, we thought.

Darn tootin’ he was hungry. It’s like the boy-child was starved and he’d never tasted anything so gloriously delicious.

{{Cleaning off Colton’s chin. PS. Derek just finished mowing the yard, that’s why he’s all dirty. My hubby doesn’t usually look like he’s rolled around in the dirt ;)}}

Overall, Colton loved it. He downed an entire bowl of rice cereal. A bowl, you guys. And he acted like he wanted more! He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience, sitting up at the table with us, eating his dinner while we enjoyed ours. (Breakfast for dinner, in case any of you were wondering…) He was totally and completely ready for solids, and didn’t even grimace or spit out any of the bites. I’m so proud of my big boy!

Before I know it (21 years from now Colton, don’t get any ideas…), this is something we’ll be seeing.

Again, I say Waaaaahhhhhhhhh.

PS. It totally looks like he’s got a mouthful of beer, doesn’t it? Hehehe. But he doesn’t. Believe me, he doesn’t.

PPS. I have video of his first bites, but I can’t get them off the camera. Grrr… will add them later.

Adelyn is 2 years, 5.99 months old and Colton is 5 months, 3 days old.

Monthly Update – 5 mos old

Colton is 5 months old!

Hmmm, I haven’t updated much in the way of Colton’s milestones lately. Let’s see, he can roll from front to back (he’s quick too… if he doesn’t want to be on his tummy, he WON’T be on his tummy). He loves sitting up and can hold himself steady for a few seconds at a time before crumpling forward (his direction of choice). Teeth are still wreaking havoc on him, especially lately. He attacks anything you put in his hands. It’s pretty funny to watch, actually. He goes after the toy like a shark. You can see it in his eyes, he has a need… a need to feed. Well, a need to *chomp*!

What else does he do? He rubs his little feet together like a cricket (or like he’s starting a fire). He does this when he’s hungry and tired. And of course, he loves Adelyn to no end. One evening this past week, Colton was sitting in his bouncy chair while I was making dinner and Addy was playing on the floor. He started fussing and I couldn’t pick him up because I had dirty hands. Without being asked, Addy got up, went over to Colton and said “No cry, Colton” and then started singing “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” to him. He calmed down and just sat there, watching his big sissy. Warmed my heart. 🙂

At 5 months old, Colton:

• Takes 2-3 naps a day. Morning naps are usually +1.5 hrs, and afternoon naps are shorter. Goes to bed between 7-8pm, depending on his last nap. Nightime sleep has been rough lately. Some nights he wakes up twice, other nights he’s up 5-6 times. Why? Whyyyy???

• Still eats every 3 hours. He’s been eyeing our food lately, so I think we may try giving him some rice cereal soon. He’s fascinated with our cups and plates.

• Enjoyed his first Halloween as a crab.

{Colton, the turkey?}

• Is wicked awesome at the jenny jump up. Even if it’s pink.

• Loves snuggling and wrestling with sissy.

• Is fascinated with the babe in the mirror.

Chews on everything.

{This is Sophie the giraffe. She is a chew toy (really). She squeaks. Addy calls her “Soapy Soapy”.}

• Likes the park. He even went down his first big slide and had his first swing ride.





Big Slide:


Swinging:


Here’s a rolling video:

• Nicknames this month include: Bear, Care Bear, Bub, Bubba, Buster, Buster Brown, Bubba bear, Baby, Handsome, Co-ton

Adelyn is 2 years, 5.5 months old and Colton is 5 months, 1 day old.