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!

 

10 Month Update

Every month I think to myself, "This is the best age yet!"  As Colin turns ten months old today, I've been thinking about how much fun we've been having with him...watching him grow and develop right before our eyes.  His little personality is really taking shape, and we can imagine what he'll be like as a toddler, child, and maybe even as an adult!  Our little boy has such a sweet and gentle soul.  He definitely has a sense of humor, and loves to be silly.  He'll even try to make me laugh as I'm putting him down for a nap...his way of telling me he'd much rather play :)  We've also learned that Colin really is quite adventuresome.  He's fully on the move now - crawling almost fast enough to catch the cats, pulling up and sitting down with ease, and cruising around the furniture as he perfects the skill of one foot then another.  And if you read the last post, then you already know how much he LOVES to swing...my little daredevil!  We even took a walk to our neighborhood playground and discovered some baby swings there too.  A nice change of scenery for Colin's new favorite activity!  He's also learned how to wave bye-bye (or hello, although we're not entirely sure he knows what it means yet!).  We've had fun practicing this gesture everywhere we go...and people seem to get a kick out of it.  Well, at least we do!  Colin is such a little social butterfly.  He loves to exercise his voice when out in public, probably aware that it gets him some attention.  He loves to yell all over the grocery store, in restaurants, and at baby storytime.  Guess he hasn't learned the quiet rule for the library yet.  He's also very intrigued by other kids and babies, and is eager to interact with them as much as possible.  Everyone always comments what a happy baby Colin is, and it's certainly very true!  He smiles and giggles at everyone, and I swear he poses when someone gets out their camera.  But my most favorite new accomplishment  this month has been hearing my baby say "MAMA!"  (And sometimes "mamamamamama" and "mom-mom").  It melts my heart every time.  And you know what?  I think he does know what it means! Each month has brought oodles of new surprises...I'm treasuring each passing day, and hoping our baby doesn't grow up too fast!!!

Here's the newest chalkboard photo!

Swinging Into Fall

Fall in the Carolinas brings about cooler temperatures, bright blue skies, and beautifully changing leaves.  We've been spending quite a bit of time outside lately, just taking it all in.  Colin and I enjoyed all of the autumn splendor in the mountains this past week, and it was wonderful to be able to be outdoors (without the threat of rain, finally!).  We stayed with Grandpa Lee and Grandma Mary while Marshall was on a business trip in Chicago, and then Marshall drove up after he returned on Friday.  We got to do some nice long walks, visit some playgrounds, feed the ducks, and sit by the fire.  We also watched a lot of football and celebrated Grandma Mary's birthday on Saturday.  Colin even got to check out a golf course for his very first time after Marshall and Grandpa finished a round on Sunday.  We think Colin will be a pro someday for sure :)  He even got to ride in a golf cart!

But Colin's most favorite thing to do in the fall is to SWING!  Grandma and Grandpa gave us a Little Tykes swing which we hung from the top deck at our house.  The first time we put Colin in it, we knew it was a winner!  Colin giggled and smiled the whole time, and we could barely get him out of it!  He also loved the baby swing at the Seven Devils park and the Valle Crucis park in the mountains.  We've been using the swing at home a lot, and it seems like the perfect way to enjoy the season.

Here are some "swingin" photos and videos for you to enjoy :)

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!