A Month of Many Milestones

Our little baby isn't such a baby anymore...Colin is 9 months old today!  And the last few weeks have seen one new accomplishment after another.  Looking back at my post from 2 weeks ago, I saw that Colin had just learned to roll over and sit up on his own.  While on vacation at the beach last week, his "army" scooting lead to full-fledged crawling on all fours!  Colin is so excited about his new found freedom to get anywhere his little heart desires.  But I bet if he could talk, he'd tell us that this crawling stuff is for the birds, and that he'd MUCH rather start walking already!  It seems as if all of a sudden, he's now gained the strength - and confidence - to pull himself up to a standing position...and it's his new favorite feat.  And his most favorite place to perform this trick?  In his crib, of course...when he should be sleeping.  But he also loves to pull himself up on the tables, chairs, couches, and on his mommy and daddy.  Once he's up, he gets a huge grin on his face, and puts out his arm for someone to assist him when he's ready to take a few steps.  While we're so very proud of our little man on the move, we're really hoping he won't be one of those kids that starts walking at 10 months.  We need a few more weeks to really baby-proof this place!  So even though Colin might be ready for the next step (meant both figuratively and literally here), Mommy and Daddy are certainly NOT!

Here's a few cute pics of Colin's latest trick, followed by the latest and greatest chalkboard wall of accomplishments.  Oh, and maybe a crawling video too :)

Our First Family Beach Vacation!

Last week, Colin, Marshall, and I joined Dad and Mary in Duck, NC (in the Outer Banks) for a fun beach vacation.  We stayed at a resort club called Barrier Island Station, and our 2-story unit had 2 bedrooms, a loft, full kitchen, and even a washer and dryer.  Although it was a bit outdated, it was a great setup for us.  There was also an indoor pool, a great outdoor pool, and an amazing beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  Apparently, whenever we travel, the bad weather seems to follow us.  So, the first few days, we had lots of clouds and rain...followed by flooding and very strong surf and rip currents in the ocean.  We made the most of it though, and explored the area, played games, watched some movies, and even visited the Currituck Lighthouse.  Of course we got breakfast from the famed Duck Donuts (a must-not-miss while in Duck...they make the donuts as you order them!  Delish!), and had scrumptious crabcake sandwiches at Cravings, a local restaurant highlighted on the show Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives (one of Marshall's favorites).  Dad and Mary also babysat one evening so Marshall and I could have a special date night.  We ate at a quaint little restaurant called The Paper Canoe, overlooking the sound.  It was a lovely evening with my hubby!  The weather finally cleared on Wednesday, and we got to relax for a bit on the beach.  The ocean was still too rough, and the No Swimming flag was still perched upon it's pole.  It took Colin a bit to get used to all the new sights and sounds of the beach.  He is definitely not a fan of the sand...it must have been just too coarse for his delicate little feet, because he wouldn't even let them touch the ground!  He loved the pool of course, and had fun floating in his raft and splashing with his toys in the kiddie pool.  Thursday was the best beach day by far.  The waves were calmer, and swimmers were allowed in the water.  Marshall, Dad, and I spent hours body surfing and boogie boarding...it was a blast!  We were all worn out that evening though!  On Friday we drove through the Wright Brothers memorial park, and visited Jockey's Ridge, which is the largest natural sand dune on the eastern coast.  Then we had a yummy lunch at a pizza place, and Colin enjoyed some of his very own vanilla ice cream.  Then it was time to pack up and head home.  We did our traveling at Colin's bedtime, which worked out great because he slept the whole 6-hour drive home.  We had such an amazing time, filled with memories we'll cherish forever.  We're already looking forward to another beach trip next year...and maybe Colin will get to enjoy the sand and ocean when he's just a little older :)

 

New Tricks

Now that Colin has become more mobile, he's also gained quite a bit of confidence in his abilities to get around...and more importantly, to get what he's after.  While doing some FaceTime with Nani last week (one of Colin's favorite things to do), we were amazed at how quickly he scooted across the carpet to get to the screen!  It was really more of an "army crawl," but he saw what he wanted and made it happen!  He not only rolls from his back to his tummy, he can now turn himself all the way around to face any direction he chooses.  Colin can easily get his legs bent underneath of him so he's up on all fours, and rocks back and forth before he starts to scoot.  He's ready to do some serious crawling now!

We've also had a few laughs while watching the video monitor above his crib.  Our sweet baby boy who used to hate tummy time now happily rolls into this position for sleep.  He's never in the same place he started, and we'll often find him with his legs on his bumpers or his cute little bottom in the air :)  Colin also sleeps with his "blankie bear" now, and this has really helped to signal when it's time to go to sleep.  Dad and Mary's friends, Dave and Faith Rowe, gave us a little pacifier with a small beanie frog attached to it (called Wub-a-Nub), and this has also become a welcome friend in the crib.  Colin loves to wake up slowly and hold his Wub-a-Nub and fiddle with the taggies on his blanket.  It's really very cute!  But a brand new surprise came during this morning's nap.  After hearing a few noises, we knew that Colin must be awake. Marshall and I peeked at the monitor to discover him sitting up in his crib, just staring at the camera...quite pleased with this new accomplishment.  So pleased, in fact, that this new-found skill already seems to have become a bit of a distraction when it's time to sleep.  When it came time for his afternoon nap, Colin wanted to practice going back and forth between laying down and sitting up, over and over.  Eventually, he fell asleep...but as soon as he woke up from this nap, he popped right up and sat in his crib until I came in!  You can be sure that the very next thing on our to-do list is to lower that crib so our little trickster doesn't escape!

Here are some cute pictures I took of the video monitor screen, to give you an idea.  The first one shows Colin in the "downward facing dog" position...aka, tush in the air!  The second one shows him just sitting in his crib, probably just as surprised as we were at the accomplishment!