Nine months...

So, I'm a little late... but on the 23rd, Colin was 9 months old!!  Wow.

Here's what he's been up to:

- Jumping.  He loves this thing!  And I love it because I can actually get things done in the kitchen =)  Not to mention he is so darn cute in it!

- Still wearing cloth.  I haven't updated on this, but the diapers are still going well.  In fact (this might be tmi...) it is easier to clean them now that he is on solid foods.  If you get my drift...

- Eating solids.  He is so grown up... he would rather feed himself.  I still give him baby food with a spoon, just to make sure he gets enough to eat, but he loves to pick up food and feed himself.  This picture was taken after he decided to move his head real fast as Garet was giving him a bite!

I have been making him flavored oatmeal (he is over the plain baby stuff).  So far he enjoys the peach oatmeal and the apple cinnamon raisin oatmeal.  Other than that he likes to pick up: peas, green beans, banana, peach, plum, carrot, puffs, pretty much anything I put in front of him!

- Crawling.  He crawls everywhere!  It's an army crawl, but boy is he fast!  He pulls up on everything too.  So... we lowered his crib.  Just in case he decides to jump out!  He is so strong on his feet too!  He stands for a long time, so it won't be long before he figures out how to move around on his feet!

- Swimming.  We are members of a pool here in town, and Colin loves to swim!  He loves water in general.  (His bath times are hilarious!  We are both soaked by the end of them)  He even kicks his feet when he's in the float.  And he doesn't mind getting his face soaked with water.

- Naps and sleeping.  We have finally figured out a good nap and sleep schedule.  It only took 8 months =)  He takes 2 naps a day, about 1 - 1.5 hours each.  He sleeps about 10 - 11 hours at night.  Sometimes if he falls back asleep in the mornings, he skips his morning nap.

- swinging.  The boy loves his swing!  Well he loves to be outside.  And Garet can really get him cracking up on the swing!

- Drinking.  He can drink through a straw!  And he's really good at it!

What a sweet, red headed boy we have!  And it looks like Colin will be left handed!  My fear with that: how do I teach him to tie his shoes?!  haha
Everyone asks me all the time "is he happy all the time??"  and the answer is yes.  He is a very happy baby!  But he is a baby, and we do hear him cry.  Not much though.  We are definitely blessed!

Family, Father's, and Fun...

We've kept busy these past few weeks... I got to go hang out with my brother and sister-in-law (and baby Davis!!)  Eric is being deployed in a couple weeks - so I really wanted to go hang out with them and see their place!  I am hoping to head there when Kailey has the baby, so I wanted to make sure I knew where I was going too =)

It was so neat to see Camp Lejeune.  It is a huge base, and it was neat to see my brother in uniform.  He looks so grown up!  Colin had a blast hanging out with them!

We stayed a couple days, then headed back here with Suzi and Garet.

When we were at Eric and Kailey's Colin was not quite crawling, but the day we got back he started!  I asked Eric what in the world he taught my son - it was an army crawl!  And he definitely did not do this before the visit with them!  haha
So, since Colin was officially mobile, and he was pulling up on everything in sight, we decided to go ahead and lower his crib.  The last thing I want to hear on that monitor is my baby jumping out of his crib!

It was a good thing we lowered it when we did, because the next day Colin figured out how to go from his tummy to sitting up.  And after his nap I walked in to him pulling up on the side of his crib!
It is so crazy how fast they grow up!

We have spent a few days at the pool.  It is a nice pool with a diving board, and it has never been too crowded.  Though Colin only lasts about an hour before he is over it.  But while there he LOVES splashing around in the water!

We celebrated Father's day Garet, it was a lot of fun!  We ended up having a beautiful day - so we enjoyed the pool after nap time.  That night we got to grill out and I made some yummy mac and cheese! 

My sweet boy is now in 12 month clothes.  What a sad day to put away all the 9 month outfits... my baby is getting big!  But it is always fun to see the "new" clothes that fit him now!  Doesn't he look so big?! 

It has been so super hot here lately - but the past couple days there has at least been a breeze.  We got Suzi's "purple" out and she had fun playing in the yard.

In fact, she had so much fun that we all joined her.  I took (waaay too many) pictures, and Garet pushed Colin on his swing. 

It has been a fun June so far - and we still have big plans.  Colin and I are headed to Charlotte to see Eric again.  (I am really trying to get in as much "Eric time" as I can before he leaves!)  Can't wait!

Swing...

The other day Garet got all the stuff together to put up a swing for Colin!  (This post has a lot of pictures... just to warn ya!) 

Colin and I decided to head out back with some toys and water and "help" daddy hang the swing.  My boy loves water!  In fact the water didn't stay in the containers long... he dumped it all over himself! 

He has two bottom teeth and likes to feel them with his tongue... that is what he was doing.  =)

Splish Splash

It is so neat to see Colin becoming more independent.  He likes to do things himself, but gets frustrated when he can't.  I think I could just stare at him all day... (and actually some days I feel like that's what I do!  haha)

It was nice to be outside without sweating!  It is so humid here - so we found the shade.  And we got wet! 

Like I have said before, Suzi is sooo good with Colin!  She is never far away.  We have realized though that a lot of Colin's "toys" used to be Suzi's "toys"... .like waterbottles... or maybe tupperware (or in this case, Cool Whip lids)...

I got the picture at the perfect time!  She let it go and moved on.

Another thing I just love is Colin with Garet.  If Garet walks in the room, Colin just lights up!  And when Garet is working on something, his son is watching...

Once I got Colin in a dry outfit, Garet was finished with the swing.  And Colin LOVED it!  I am so excited that now we can enjoy being outside more!  It's tough at this age because Colin isn't walking, but he isn't in one place either.  So it is kind of hard to put him on a sheet outside without him pulling it up, or scooting off it into the grass/dirt.  This is great, Colin just loves being outside!

Yup, I think he likes it!

Our anniversary...

I am having a hard time keeping up with this blog!  Go to A Beane A Day to see daily posts... I am better at keeping up with that! 

So our anniversary was June 3 - FIVE years!  =)

Garet surprised me with flowers and a cake with homeade peanut butter icing!  I L.O.V.E. peanut butter! 

We drove all around this small town looking for a park that had a baby swing.... we finally found one.  And I mean there is only one in the whole town.  Anywho... Colin loved the swing!  Good thing because we had one for Garet to put in our backyard!

That night we went out to a nice dinner.  The restaurant we went to had nice cloth table clothes, which we had to remove because someone likes to shake and pull on anything he can get his hands on!

The next day we went to a horse show!  Down the road about 15 minutes at Lake Waccamaw there was a horse show!  I so miss being around horses all the time!  So I put on my boots, and got Colin's hat, and off we went!

It was a hot day... but the show was inside.  We packed a picnic to eat while we were there.  But we had to get creative since there weren't highchairs (these were picnic tables).  Colin got to eat his lunch on the table =)

We have had such a wonderful 5 years!  I am so thankful for Garet and the life we have together!