Colin is 11 Months Old!

Only 1 more month left before Colin can be officially considered a toddler.  A TODDLER!!!  Can someone please explain to me just HOW that is possible?!?!  Well, one thing is for sure...and that is that he is certainly starting to toddle!  He is gaining so much confidence now, and is determined to do things on his own.  He loves being able to be on the move, and explores everything he possibly can.  "Busy" has been our favorite word to describe Colin at this stage!  But it's very evident that pretty soon, crawling and cruising around the furniture won't be enough to appease our little adventurer.  While my mom was in town visiting during the week of Halloween, she gave Colin an early birthday present - a push toy with an activity center and a handle so that Colin can stand up and walk it around the room!  He was so excited at this new-found skill...and we were a little on edge with the speed at which he zipped around the couch!  Colin also loves to stand up and bounce the yoga ball in the playroom.  He's got pretty good balance, too.  But when he does lose his footing and falls to the carpet, I'm so impressed with the way that he picks himself up again (and without any fuss, I might add!), and goes right back to it!  We've also watched him crawl up a few stairs and stand on his own for a few seconds at a time.  It won't be long now before he takes that amazing first step...and I spend the rest of my days chasing after our busy toddler!

I'm also amazed lately by Colin's fine motor skills.  He's perfected his pincer grasp, and can use his thumb and forefinger to pick up tiny peas and cheerios at meal time!  He has also learned how to take the lid off of a cup and put a ball inside, shake it up, then do it again.  The first time he did this, he discovered it all on his own...and I was such a proud mommy!  I'll attach a video of this for you to marvel at :)

Little Man has also popped out four of his top front teeth!  Luckily, teething didn't seem to affect him too bad this time.  He's using his new chompers to explore a wide variety of new foods as well.  He is basically over the baby food and ready to move on to more interesting tastes and textures.  So far, I haven't found too many things that he turns his nose up at.  And this will also be our last month of formula and bottles...our baby is growing up SO fast!!!

Colin is the absolute joy of our lives.  He is funny, charming, clever, and sweet.  He loves being tickled, silly faces, and rough-housing with Daddy.  He loves splashing in the tub and exercising his voice.  He loves music and books, and has a blast at baby story time at the library each week.  I taught him to clap his hands a few weeks ago, and I love how he uses this gesture to show his excitement!  We play patty-cake and peek-a-boo, and lots of other rhyming games.  But the best part of my day is waking up in the morning and bringing my cutie in bed to snuggle.  I cherish these moments, and plan to cuddle with my little buddy for as long as he'll let me!  Cheers to the last month of babyhood!

Here's the latest chalkboard wall update!

Hooray for Halloween!

October is my favorite month of the year.  The temperatures are cooler, the leaves are changing, and the skies are a clear Carolina blue.  But Halloween just might be the best part of this month.  We did a few fun things this year for Colin's first Halloween.  First, we signed up to work a shift at our church's annual pumpkin patch.  We really enjoyed the day and made a bunch of good sales...probably because we brought along the cutest little pumpkin in the patch :)  Colin wore his jack-o-lantern outfit and we got several adorable photos on hay bales, surrounded by pumpkins, and with our neighbor's little girl, Amelia, when they stopped by to pick out their pumpkins.  But Colin's real costume this year for the big day was a horse!  Marshall and I wore our cowboy and cowgirl gear, and took our little pony trick-or-treating to a few houses around the neighborhood.  He even got to ride in his new Radio Flyer wagon (a.k.a., the "Rothwell Rider"), which he seemed to really love!  With his candy basket in tow, he eventually picked up on the concept of reaching into the bowl to choose a piece of candy, and he even put it in his own basket!  It was so cute!  We also made a last stop trick-or-treat visit to Grandma Kimmie and Grandpa John's house, just before a thunderstorm rolled into town.  They were very excited to see us all dressed up!  My mom was also in town visiting for the week, so it was extra special to have her here for the occasion.  She babysat Colin for us on Saturday night, so we could attend Mark and Kim's Halloween party.  Marshall and I went as a "Day of the Dead" couple, a sort-of Halloween tradition in the Mexican culture.  Think skeleton meets mariachi...lots of face painting made this one a hit!  It took a while, but I had fun turning hubby and myself into these creepy characters.  We had a good time at the party, too...but next year, I think we'll be ready to host our own!  Here's some photos from all the festivities.  Enjoy!