Eating Sand

Shew, this summer sure has been busy so far! We started out our first week of vacation by packing up and heading to Daytona with some of our family. Colt and I really enjoyed our time at the beach with some of the girls. He loved going to the beach and eating the sand... yep, my child loves to eat sand. It must be something from his Dad's side ;) Every time we go to the beach, we end up leaving with sand all over his face, mouth, well... everywhere. I know sand is icky anyway and usually gets everywhere too, but I can't ever remember leaving with sand in my mouth... Colt really loves the water too. He loves to sit and splash. He's gotten knocked over a few times from the waves, but usually will get right back up and get back to splashing. He was so funny swimming in the pool too. At the condo where we stay, they have a kiddie pool. Now, Colt isn't quite tall enough yet or sturdy on his legs to let him just walk around in it, but with the float, he really thought he was the man.

After returning from our vacation we've been enjoying being home together. We've been going on walks each morning (depending on the sweltering heat), going to the park, and having playdates with his favorite friend, Kelsey. I've been planning his birthday party too. It's been so much fun! However, next year I don't think I'll plan for it to be quite as elaborate as this year! We're doing a pirate theme, so we have been picking out all kinds of pirate decorations. My closet is overflowing with gold coins and buried treasure! I've also found that I can't do anything unless he's napping! He is walking and most days, just running from one thing to the next, getting into everything! It's amazing how much of a mess such a little person can create. As a matter of fact, this morning I went to get my blow dryer out after a shower, and he had somehow gotten the tissue box off of J's dresser and had completely emptied the tissues box one by one. At that point, all you can do is laugh... and take a picture!

Hopefully our summer will slow down some. Every year my summer vacation seems to go by faster and faster. We're planning on heading to Maryland in July. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, but not so much for the 12 hour drive. I have no idea how Colt is going to react to being buckled into a seat for that long. He hates getting into it for 10 minutes, I can only imagine how he'll be for 12 hours. I'm trying to find some things to keep him occupied with, but I can only entertain a 1 year old for so long!

Here are a few pictures of our recent adventures.

Is it summer yet?

Time has really been flying by! It's hard to believe that we are almost in May. Colt is 9 months old! Yikes! How did that happen? He is into everything these days. He is walking with holding onto things and talking up a storm... not that it makes much sense, but we do hear an occasional bye bye, mama, dada! I recently took him to the beach and Colt loved it. YAY! I know where we'll be spending a lot of time this summer! He's also turned into an outside boy. He would much rather be outside than anything else. We bought a playset for him back in March and what a good investment that was! He climbs all over it (with momma making sure he doesn't fall nearby!)

We're starting to get things together for his 1st birthday party. I can't wait to plan it. I think we are going to be using a pirate theme AND since it will be a million degrees outside I think we'll put out one of those blow up pools to let the kids play in. Then, shortly after his birthday party Colt and I will be flying home to Maryland to visit. I am so excited to take him home to meet everyone!!

Here are some of Colt's 9 month pictures I took last weekend

O is for Okeechobee

We braved our first trip to South Florida to visit with some of Jimbo's family from Ohio. Boy, was it an adventure! The whole way down Colt was unhappy, which now we know it was because of his allergies. The pollen here has been awful!! My poor baby's eyes ran and ran and ran. Needless to say, when we got there he wasn't much more pleasant. He was grouchy the next day, but by Saturday he was back in action (thank goodness for mommy!!) Colt and I got lots of quality time with Gigi while Daddy and Poppa fished. Colt went swimming (yes it was warm enough! woo hoo!) I also finally got to see my first wild gator, but didn't get to snap a picture because I was driving. (Dang!)

He was more interested in the dirt! Go figure!

Colt & Poppa

Colt has been into everything lately! He is crawling all around and has started pulling up on everything. As a matter of fact I went into his room this morning and found that little booger standing up laughing. So, Daddy lowered his mattress down. It's amazing how fast they grow! He's also been trying to walk on his own. It's unbelievable!! He takes his little walker and pushes it around and is SO proud of himself. Here are a few pictures of our latest adventures!

Found this little guy standing in his crib this morning!

He LOVES to be outside!

Catching up!

Well it has been quite a busy couple of months! I know I need to update with some recent pictures. Here are Colt's 6 month pictures that I tried to take myself.

Colt was ready for the zoo. Don't you love his hat?
Colt loves taking a "big boy" bath!
Daddy's Adventures of Babysitting....
I came home from grocery shopping to this...
Colt playing in the water bowl, laughing and giggling the whole time!
Well... at least he hasn't decided to snack on the food yet :)

Thankful

As I sat around our table at Thanksgiving I thought of everything I was thankful for and wanted to share, so here goes. There are the obvious ones my family: sometimes they are a pain, but always there when you need them, our healthy baby boy: he's getting so big and he just puts a smile on my face every day, and my job: thank goodness I have a job I love and has vacation days for me to spend with my family. There is so much more to be thankful for, but I'd be here ALL day. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now the countdown starts until Christmas!!!

F is for four months and food!

Colt is eating real food now! Woo hoo! Talk about stinky diapers!!! So far we've tried cereal and bananas. We may be adventurous tonight and try some apples. We're also trying the sippy cup. Crazy, I know!!! It's funny to see this little guy sitting in his high chair trying to drink from a sippy cup. He grabs the handle and chews on the spout, I haven't quite figured out if he's getting anything out of it yet, but hey, he's trying... at least he's getting the idea! Here are some pictures of his first time eating and his 4 month picture.

Love y'all!

Halloween and more Fall Fun

Well, since the last time I posted it has been quite crazy! We all had a stomach bug. Now it's terrible when you're sick or when the baby is sick, but when ALL of you are sick... it is REALLY terrible. I think we are finally all back in good health. Colt had his 4 month check up. He was 13.8 lbs and 24 1/2 inches long. The doctor called him "shrimpy", but let me just say, the boy has been making up for lost time lately!! Since switching him to formula he's been pretty mad about the whole eating thing. He would eat 4 oz and cry while he was eating. Now he has seemed to adjust to formula, but he still will fuss while he is eating every now and then. He's also been waking up in the middle of the night to eat, which he hasn't done since he was 6 weeks old!!! Talk about tiring... yikes!!! I just keep praying that this growth spurt will pass quickly... if not we're flying mom down to do the night shift. LOL.

I'm posting some pictures of Colt at the pumpkin patch and his first Halloween. Unfortunately Colt was not feeling to well for it, but you can't tell from his pictures! I'm so thankful that God has blessed us with such a happy go lucky little boy!

I'll be posting Thanksgiving pictures soon... can't wait to show y'all his outfit!!