10 months...

My sweet baby boy is 10 months old today!  He is growing so fast!  I am just amazed at what he can do!  And it is so neat to see the world through him!  We are truly blessed.  Colin is our little angel.

Here is some of what Colin has been up to:

- pulling himself up on everything and cruising along, and is super fast at crawling now

- claps and is starting to wave

- loves going on walks, and just being out and about

- just about finished eating baby food... he is over it.  I have started giving him some of what we are eating (fruits, veggies, meat...)

- loves his books.  He is now really into the touch and feel books

-  getting top teeth in

- takes two naps and sleeps from 7 pm to 5:30 am

- absolutely LOVES the water!  bath, pool, ocean... I even put some water in a pan and just keep him occupied with that!

- such a flirt!  He just laughs and shows off for everyone!

We love our little man!

Semper Fi...

It means "always faithful" and is the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps.

My brother is a Marine.  He has been deployed to Afghanistan, he left last week.

We have known for some time now that this was going to happen.  I went to Charlotte in June to see him one last time before he left.  I just haven't been able to blog about it... as you can imagine, it is emotional.

So when I was in Charlotte, we got to spend a lot of great time with Eric!  He was able to have a week off before his deployment and he got to see most of our family and friends.  My parents hosted a little party at their house.  Here is me with some of my cousins...

Also while we were there, my dad put up a swing set for Colin!  And as you know, Colin loves to swing!  So this was a major hit!

It was so great to hang out with Eric!  We had such a great time - it was very upbeat and fun.  We just enjoyed everything.  Garet was missing (he had to work... boo!) but it was good to have the rest of the family together.  Colin loved hanging out!  In fact, he showed Eric how to drive the ice cream truck!

We had a great time at the party!  My parents had BBQ, yummy!  There was corn hole (which I still haven't really ever played!)  and Aunt Kailey kept Colin happy

By the way... that's Morgan Laine Davis that Colin is sitting on =)
I think everyone had a good time!  And you can see that Colin is completely taken by his Uncle Eric!

After dinner, everyone got to hang out.  My parents have a pool table, so Eric and my dad took on Eric's best friend and his dad.  I'm pretty sure Eric and dad won =)

Once everyone left, mom, dad, me, Eric and Kailey were left hanging out.  I think we were all just enjoying every.single.moment that none of us wanted to go to bed!  In fact, we had a competition...
Mom had some gum, so Eric and I tried to see who could blow a double bubble first!

(Eric won, but that's besides the point) 

The next day, Eric and Kailey left to head back to Camp Lejeune.  Eric isn't big on taking pictures, but I warned him that we were taking a lot =)

And he, of course, was fine with that!  We had such a great visit!  And I just can't wait to give him a big hug in a few months!  Our military is amazing.  I really have no words for how proud I am of my little brother.

My little brother, who is going to be a daddy in less than 3 months!  I am so proud of you Eric!  I love you!! 

July 4th weekend...

We had a great weekend!  On Saturday, the 3rd, we drove to Wilmington for the day.  We used to live there, and still have our house that's being rented... so we drove by to make sure it looked good.  Then we drove around town, and stopped to have lunch downtown.  Wilmington is such a cute place!  It is old, and there are horse carriages, and it is right on the water.  So pretty!

When we were finished we were leaving downtown and we passed a parking lot... Garet said he thought he recognized a car... it was his old car!  The one he sold when we moved here (since he has a company car now)!  How crazy is that?!  Of all places, we drove by the car we sold! 

Oh - and there was a ticket on the front!  HA!

Then we drove to our friends house for a cookout!  Garet has been friends with these two (Elliot and Melissa) since first year of college.  I met them when we lived in Wilmington, and now that we are back, it's fun to get together!  They have a daughter that is about 7 months older than Colin.  And boy did Colin love her wagon!

The next day, on the 4th, we took it easy around the house and then that afternoon we headed to Lake Waccamaw.  We have managed to make a few friends here =)  One of them invited us to their lake house for a cookout.

When we got there they informed us that we just missed George Washington on the boat going up and down the lake!  Colin was still able to get a picture with him though...

We didn't stay too late since I didn't want to mess up Colin's bedtime.  So after Colin got in bed, Garet and I sat on the front porch... it was so nice.  Just hanging out. 

We did see some fireworks ( from the neighbors). 

It was a great weekend!

Great day...

We had such a wonderful day yesterday!  We decided to drive out to Sunset Beach!  Crazy, you might ask... on a Saturday the weekend of July 4th... well, I had my worries that it was going to be crazy busy, but I was (thankfully) proven wrong!  We woke up and ate breakfast - which we do around 7 every morning.  Then we packed a lunch and threw things in the car and headed out!

We arrived at the beach with absolutely NO traffic!  And we got a free parking spot right next to beach access.  Garet put up our tent thing, and I plopped Colin down in the sand while I organized everything else.  Colin loved the sand!  And this time he didn't even attempt to eat it!  He was having a blast!  Then we moved down to the water...

He had so much fun!  He splashed so much!  Every once in a while he would see a wave come and get a little nervous (he would reach up to me), but he did so well!  It was really cute!  Garet took him out a little deeper to let him get his whole body in the ocean (and to wash off some of the sand!)  Colin was so good and seemed to really love it! 

We put Colin in the shade for a bit and Garet let him have some water from his water bottle.  Colin drank it like normal.  haha - he didn't spill any.  It's so neat to see him growing up.

My guys.

We were worried that we wouldn't be able to stay at the beach long because Colin would get fussy around his naptime.  We brought his jogging stroller, and when his nap time rolled around we took him on a walk down the beach.  And....

success!!
He took a 45 minute nap - which is shorter than usual, but wahoo!  It will do!

It is so funny how our trip to the beach has changed.  When we lived in St. John, we would stop on our way into town, or home from town, jump in the ocean... sit on the beach... all we needed was a towel.  And now... we bring the whole house:

But I wouldn't trade it for the world!

And is it crazy to say that... I think I'm scared of the ocean?!?  Is that weird?  I guess after living where I can see through the water... going into water where you can't see your feet is a little scary to me.  I didn't want to go out past where the water was breaking.

Anyway...
we had a GREAT day!  Colin was perfect!  When we got back home we grilled out. 

 Perfect.

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!