Half way...

to one!

Colin had his 6 month appointment this morning!  He is in the 45% for both height and weight... 16.9 lbs and 26" long!  My sweet little man!

Six months...

Colin is 6 months old today!  Wow!  I know I say it every month, but time just flies so fast!! 

Colin is:

- Eating rice cereal, and has started fruits, twice a day

- Sitting up for a few minutes at a time, unassisted

- Scooting around everywhere on his belly

- Still loving books

- Grabbing his feet and sucking his toes

- Standing (with help, of course)

- Talking all the time

- Takes two (short) naps everyday, and sleeps from 8 pm - 7 am (waking up once to eat)

- Grabbing for anything in his sight

- Loving Suzi!  He is so interested in her!  He sqeals and smiles when he sees her (and braces for a lick!)

Garet and I feel so blessed to have our sweet little man!  He has brought us more joy than we thought possible.  I really can't believe he is halfway to one!!  Crazy!  We are trying to soak up every moment with him.  He is changing so fast and I want to remember everything!

Funny sock...

Colin pulled off one of his socks... so I took it from him and then started swinging it around.  He got the biggest kick out of it!  I managed to get it on video:

Five on Friday...

1. Colin celebrated his first St Patrick's Day yesterday!  He made sure to wear green so he didn't get pinched! 

2. Also yesterday, I had to go to the specialist about my dumb knee.  I am not a fan of going to the doctor, or taking meds, so after a lot of pushing encouraging from my husband (and mother), I went.  Basically I have to go to physical therapy, but they also gave me a steroid shot in my knee!  It hurt like heck I tell ya!  I could barely walk out of that place!  Anyway... all that to say that while I was wasting 2 long hours getting my knee shot up at the doctor, Garet took Colin to Publix to do some shopping.  When they got home, this was what Colin looked like:

Super cute, right???  =)  But also... pantless.  My boy went out and about with no pants on!  haha 
When I saw him and said, "where are his pants?!"  Garet replied, "oh, does he need pants?"  I know around the house I let him go without pants, just cause it's easier, but not when he is going out!  haha, I got a kick out of it!  At least it was warm!

3. Let me back up some and fill you in on how traveling with a baby went...
It was perfect!  Although, I am a very scheduled, planner type person, so I had to get over that.  For example - here we start Colin's bedtime routine between 7/7:30.  He is in bed, asleep by 8 each night.  The first night we were there, we didn't get to our room till after 7, Colin was in bed at 10:30.  And it was fine.
The airplane was great, as I have mentioned.  I am still breastfeeding, so I got over nursing in public real fast!  There really isn't a "private corner" to go to inside Atlanta Airport!  So, I stacked all our luggage in a seat next to me and had G sit on the other side, and it worked just fine!  In fact I bet most people didn't even realize I had a baby under my cover!
Feeding him rice cereal was done in his carseat.  No big deal, just had to wash it real good once we got home!  I borrowed a pack'n'play from the hotel.  And for his bath, I just used a towel and put it in the bath with him (rolled up behind him) to keep him propped up. 

It really couldn't have gone smoother!  We made sure to "go with the flow" and Colin did perfect!
4. So, we have been staging our house since we found out we were moving.  We have been non-stop cleaning, rearranging, fixing, packing, etc.  We will get started on one thing and that will lead us to another thing... it's been crazy around here.  Still, I chuckled when I found where Garet had left his water the other day:

See it?  On the top of the guest closet!

Then Garet made me laugh again (do you see a pattern here??) when I sent him to the store for candles.  We have one of those candle holders that go around your umbrella on the outside patio table.  Ya know... the one that holds tealight candles.  So, I told G that I wanted green tealight candles... this is what I got:

Every color tealight they had, plus some votive candles too!  haha, just in case I needed options =)  (We went with the green.)

5. Speaking of the house... it is officially for sale! 
Anyone want to move to a beautiful 3 bed, 2 bath brick home in Alabama????

Our trip...

The reason for our trip to Wilmington, NC this week was actually for a job transfer!  About two weeks ago Garet was told about an opening there, they flew us out, showed us around, and then made Garet an offer.  After talking everything over - we accepted!  So we will be moving back to North Carolina!

Here we are about to meet up with Garet's new bosses for a nice dinner...

Lucky for us we had the perfect babysitter!!

Eric and Kailey are only an hour from Wilmington!

So we will be living right outside of Wilmington - a small town called Whiteville.
We've driven all around and are very excited about this!  This will put us so much closer to family!!  My parents will be 3 hours away!  Wow!  (Now they are about 8.)  There is a really nice state park that will be close to us.  They have camping/hiking and a really nice lake!

The town is super cute!  We didn't have too much time to really explore, but we did get to eat lunch at this nice little cafe downtown.

We knew once we had Colin that we wanted to be closer to family.  Garet was able to talk to his boss here and let him know that if anything closer became available we would be interested.  At that time, his boss warned us that when another council was interested in Garet, it would be a very fast process - and boy was he right!  Within a week of hearing about this opening we were flown out to see it.  Then made an offer... so in two weeks we went from normal, to moving to another state!  And to make things go even faster, Garet starts this new job on April 11. 

We are so blessed to have this opportunity!  And we couldn't be more thrilled to be moving so close to family!  It is truly bittersweet to be leaving though.  We have made some awesome friends here, and have really made Huntsville our home. 

Before I get emotional... I will end this =) 
Here is our sweet little man at the airport.  He was so excited to be sitting in the chair!  We were about to board our plane to bring us back here.

Travels...

We went out of town at the end of last week.  We flew to Wilmington, NC.  Colin helped me pack...

He was sooo perfect on the flight there!  He slept during both flights.

Before our first flight, Colin decided to spit up on my leg, so my pant leg was soaked, and then he decided to spit up on the chair where I was sitting, so I pretty much looked like I peed my pants.  And on the second plane, te flight attendent was giving his speech, and didn't realize that the microphone wasn't cut on.  He was doing all the gestures and everything!  So then he had to redo it all.  It was pretty funny

We didn't get to spend too much time in the hotel, but it was nice to have a huge bed for Colin to play on!

We got to see my mom and two of my aunts, and my brother!!  It was so much fun!  I posted on A Beane A Day of seeing them.

Rainy day...

* just found this .... I had forgot to post it!  oops =) *

Today has just been... blah outside.

I think I have been spoiled by all the nice, warm weather - and I forget that we are still technically in winter.

So Garet had to work for the most part today (boo!) so me and the little man had an inside day.  We played peek-a-boo:

Colin loves this game!  I did it with his burp cloth (it was clean, I promise!)  Every time I say "Boo"  or I say, "Where's Colin?"  and pull the cloth away and say "There he is!"  He just cracks up!  He has started pulling the cloth away himself... that's what he was doing in this picture.  That's why he is still partially covered!  =)

We also played with many, many of his toys:

I loaded a bunch of them around him and took this picture.  He tends to get bored with some real fast, and others I don't think he has gotten tired of them yet!  See that alligator he has his hand on?  He loves that one!  It's funny to see which toys grab his attention.

We also read:

Okay, I read... and then Colin tried to eat it.
He loves to read be read to.  He has favorites of these too.... I have found that any book I read that has more words than pictures, really don't interest him right now!  This book is one of his favorites.. "Barnyard Dance!"  He also really likes "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See".  I think I have these memorized...

Oh and we have only taken 1 nap, for 30 minutes... don't know what that means.  He is about to doze off right now though... hopefully it means he'll sleep well tonight!  =)

The weekend...

We had a great weekend... it, of course, went by way too fast though!

On Friday Colin and I joined Garet for a luncheon he had out in Decatur.  Colin dressed up in his scout uniform, and really stole the show!  He was so well behaved!  The speaker was Young Boozer, and we got a picture with him.

On Saturday, Garet volunteered to do a pancake breakfast at a high school out in Decatur.  Colin and I went to that too... man was it crowded!!  I am soooo blessed to have such a well behaved son!  It was so packed that I didn't want to bring his stroller, so I just carried him... he did so well! 

I love getting pictures of Colin and Suzi together... they are so interested in one another.  It is really cute.  Suzi will roll around on her bed, and Colin will just stare at her!  Or Colin will roll around on his mat and Suzi watches his every move! 

The weather is WONDERFUL!!  I really hope it doesn't get cold again!  We have really enjoyed being able to get outside.  I need to get some baby sunscreen for the little man!  He has been hanging out in the shade.

I went in for a little bit, and when I came back out I saw this conversation going on...

How cute?!  Nothing beats seeing Garet as a Daddy  =)

And nothing beats the sweet sound of Colin laughing and having fun.  He just loves bouncing!  It was fun to get it outside so he could have a change of scenery!

Now it's time to curl up on the couch for a little bit before headed to bed! 

Playing outside...

It has been so pretty outside lately, it has been hard to stay inside!  So... I took the kids =) in the backyard to get rid of some energy.

Colin stayed in his swing in the shade while Suzi played with her ball. 

I love that the weather is getting so nice!!  And I know Suzi is in heaven with all the walks she has been on!

Golfing...

So it wasn't technically golfing... but Colin and I did go with Garet to the driving range over the weekend.  The boys even dressed alike...

We hung out and watched Garet hit some balls.  Colin got a lot of attention - "Getting him fit for his first set of clubs?"

He did so well - I was worried he would start crying and disturb everyone.  It is always so quiet on a golf course!  But he didn't make a peep =)

Five Months...

Wow, I can't believe Colin is five months old already!  Here is a comparison picture from when he was one month:

He is:

eating rice cereal

"talking" all the time

sucking on his toes

grabbing everything he can get his hands on

still just rolling from his back to tummy

pushing up on his hands when on his tummy

bouncing like crazy in his bouncer (as we speak actually!)

sleeping well, but waking up at 1ish to eat

so curious, and loves to see what is going on

loving splashing in the tub

sitting up with assistance

Oh what a joy he has brought to mine and Garet's lives!  He makes us laugh all the time!  We seriously sometimes just watch him for entertainment!  He doesn't have any teeth yet, but boy does he drool!!  He is also working on getting some hair =)

First hike...

We have had wonderful weather here this week - and it managed to stay nice for the weekend too!  We decided to go on a hike!  The whole family!  Colin was so excited!

~ Let me just say - Colin has never worn shoes.  I honestly don't see much of a point.  But he has these super cute tennis shoes and they matched his outfit perfectly!  So this is his first time going out with shoes on =)  That is probably why he is looking at them in this picture!

I wore Colin and Garet wore the bag with our lunch, water, diapers, etc.  And he walked Suzi.  We were a little over halfway to the top and Colin fell asleep.

Here is our fearless leader...

When we got to the top we had a little picnic lunch.  It was really nice!

Colin woke up and enjoyed the view with us...

And we attempted a family shot...

Now I am about to put Colin to bed, and then curl up on the couch!  Oh how our weekends have changed!  And I love every minute =)

Valentine Weekend...

We had a good weekend.  Although I have been sick, and since someone is nursing... there isn't much I can do about it.

What a cute naked baby!  I wanted to get a few pictures of Colin in the nude - it was a big risk, but we made it without incident.  He LOVES being in his bday suit!  Suzi wanted in on all the fun too...

We went out to dinner on Friday for Valentine's day.  We knew it would be crazy Monday night.  We didn't do too much more, since I wasn't feeling well.  We did bring out a V-day dog... it barks and drives Suzi crazy!!!  She is so funny!  It will be really interesting when Colin gets older and his toys talk and make more noise!  Poor Suzi =)

As you've seen in the last post, we had big news that my brother and sister-in-law are expecting... and if you've seen A Beane A Day you would know that Garet's mom got married today!  What an exciting weekend!

Phone call...

I got a call from my brother, Eric about a week and a half ago...

Him and his wife, Kailey, called to let me know that Colin is going to have a cousin!!!!!
I am soooooo excited! 

(notice how in the first picture Colin was asleep... then due to my screaming, in the second picture he is wide awake)

They are pregnant!!  And due on October 1... so almost one year exactly from when Colin was born!  I can't wait to see them in person again!!  YAY!

Bouncing...

Once Colin had pretty good head control, we bought him a bouncing toy!

He LOVES it!  You can't see it, but there is a pillow under his feet.  He is still a bit short to touch the floor... and he hasn't quite figured out that he can make himself bounce... but he just loves looking at all the toys that are attached!

Everyday I am in awe of him!!  Just watching him discover new things is so amazing! 
Suzi is taking more of an interest too now that he is more interactive and talkative!

I'm pretty sure Colin was bracing for a lick...

Colin has also discovered his feet.  It is so funny to see him trying to eat them!
He has started rice cereal, and is doing awesome with it!  No funny faces... in fact he sees the spoon and opens his mouth up for it! 

Well I hear him waking up from his nap! 
Love that kid!!  =)

So it begins...

Solid foods.

I just can't believe Colin is old enough to start rice cereal!  So exciting and so sad at the same time!
We started when he was 4 1/2 months old.  He looks a little unsure =)

He actually did really well with it!  And he didn't make too many funny faces... he pushed most of it out of his mouth, and then blew some bubbles with some of it...

He is growing up too fast!