Exhausted and Rambling...

Colin woke up again at 4:00am. I spent one hour trying to get him back to sleep (read: letting him holler) and gave up at 5:09am. Minutes are rather important these days and I am starting to track my days by the exact time. I think the hardest part about this stage is not being able to just fix it. My friends and even books warned me that this stage would happen and that sleep patterns would disrupt, but I still find myself looking for a way to make it stop and help him. I know he needed to get more sleep, but could find no way to give it to him. Today I tried something new and went in to him. Without talking or turning on lights, I went in and changed him and gave him a warm bottle while rocking him. I thought it might soothe him the way it used to and he would go back to sleep. Nope....I still had to let him cry and he still did not go back to sleep. So we have been playing since five and I am trying to shake off the extreme fatigue. I am ready for things to settle down and him to get back in his groove. This is me....hanging in there. He is in a great mood and very chirpy and happy this morning as usual, so I know he is not sick. I am thankful for that!

In other news, I have been trying to do little bits of Christmas decorating this week as I get a free moment. Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and it is a family tradition to do the official kick-off to Christmas that night by firing up all the lights and decorations for the first time. I want to have all the big stuff done so that we can have fun and put up the finishing touches together like decorating the tree. I hope this will be one of the traditions that Colin remembers and loves the most...spending Thanksgiving weekend drinking hot cider and putting out all the cherished decorations. I have the mantle just about done with the garland and decorations, as well as lighted garland above the kitchen cabinets and entertainment center. Since I am so nervous about the tree with a toddler, I wanted to have some fun stuff up high where Colin can't reach, but we can all enjoy. It will be Christmas central in here, but I love it! I plan to display some of my favorite cherished ornaments on the mantle nestled in the garland rather than on the tree where Colin can get them. I also purchased the replacement bulbs for the outdoor lights and I am all set up to force Jer outside to hang lights on Sunday. I really want them to go up this weekend so that we can do the official lighting on Thursday night. I know he is thrilled at the prospect. hehe! This is going to be a very busy weekend with Thanksgiving prep and getting everything taken care of for Meredith's wedding coming in only two weeks! I hope Colin sleeps so that I can get some rest, but I am doubting that. :-)

To finish my random post, does anyone know who sells socks with rubber grips on the bottom? I have found lots at Target, Wal-Mart, and Children's Place that have rubber words on the bottom, like "2 -3 years", but that is not enough grip for us. I want the kind that look like socks but have almost a complete rubber bottom! I can't find them anywhere and it is too cold now for Colin to be barefoot in the mornings. He runs a lot and slips all the time. I need grippers! If anyone knows where to get some, let me know! I hope everyone has a great Friday.

Happy 16 Months!!

Colin is 16 months old today and to mark the occasion, he got his second flu shot. YIKES! He finally slept decently last night and woke up slight before six, which is GREAT in comparison to the last few nights. I hated to mess with things by getting a shot, but I know better than to put things like that off. We just got home and he is in good spirits. I made him pose for the impromptu photo shoot since I needed his official 16 month photo. He looks like a big boy to me today...it could just be the jeans, but he looks older!

Colin at 16 months...lots of changes going on with the little guy! Here are some of the few I can think of at the moment:

*He has started to say a lot more and his babbling is starting to sound more like words. The oh no and okay are the newest and he is starting to repeat after me a lot more than he used to. I work with him everyday and whenever we go shopping, I constantly point out objects and tell him their name and what they are. I know people think I am crazy, but the pedi said it was good for him. I don't mind looking silly one bit.

*He loves to play "I'm gonna get you" where I run after him and tickle him. He laughs so hard when I announce that I am going to get him.

*I pulled out a big Ziploc bag full of last winter's baby socks and it has become his favorite toy. He loves to pull out the balls of socks and put them in different places or show them to me. It is always the little things that he ends up loving.
*He loves his new footed pj's and looks crazy adorable in them. I was not sure if he would go for them, but he thinks they are great and they do a much better job of keeping him warm than just his blanket, which he still kicks off immediately.

*He has not started using a pillow just yet...I tried it during his cold and he just scoots off of it to lay on the flat crib.

*He loves Charlie and Lola on Playhouse Disney. At the moment, this show has surpassed even The Wiggles, which I thought impossible. I thought maybe it was just the theme song or their British accents that he liked, but today I had the TV on mute and he caught sight of Lola and started to point and laugh hysterically.

* He is wearing size 18 or 24 month pants and 24 month and 2T shirts and onesies. It really depends on the brand and I have gotten pretty good at knowing which ones run big and which ones run small. Any one piece outfit has to be at least 2T because of Colin's height. 18 month don't come close to snapping. Most 18 month pants are perfect, but I have found exceptions.

*He still loves to eat pretty much anything.

There is a ton more I could write, but Colin has had it with me at the computer. Here are more shots from the front yard shoot. Happy day, little man!! :-)

OH NO!

Colin woke up at 3:48am this morning. I spent a solid hour trying to get him back to sleep and gave up. This is one rough week! I wish I knew what was keeping the poor little guy from sleeping, but my instinct tells me that his body is just growing and going through changes that are disrupting him at the moment. I feel like a zombie, but trying to just tie a knot in my rope and hang on (to quote my mama's favorite saying).

We went to Marshall's today to mill around and look at Christmas plates. As we were in line to check out, Colin decided that he needed to talk to the woman in front of us. He yelled out to her and she turned around to look at him in the cart. He then starts grinning from ear to ear, both dimples of full display, and does his move where he ducks his head and looks up through his eyelashes. This move is getting so practiced that it makes me laugh out loud at his audacity! This woman was older and not very "welcoming" in her demeanor, but I saw her smile slightly despite herself and turn back around. Colin then leans out and grabs her arm! I quickly said, "Colin...no no!" as she turned around to look at him again. He grins and yells, "OH NO!!" at her as loud as he can. This takes her by surprise and she says, "Oh no!" right back to him...to which he responds with, "OKAY!". Now he is laughing loudly and bouncing up and down alternating between "OH NO" and "OKAY!". By now he has her eating out of the palm of his hand. He offers her his juice and bear. She starts cooing to him about his dimples and hair and then looks up at me and says, "Is he for real?". I laughed and told her that he was indeed! She launches into how happy and adorable and well behaved he is. She continues to gush about what a precious angel he is and I was forced to jump in and say, "He is indeed the most adorable boy on the planet, but I do need to point out that I have been awake since 3:48am." Colin picked that moment to yell "OH NO!". Exactly. :-)

I guess now would be a good time to point out that Colin has new words. That would be OH NO and OKAY in case you had not figured that out. :-) He throws things on the floor just so he can say "OH NO!". It is really the cutest thing ever. I think he will have a lot more to say any day now...he seems to be moving forward full steam ahead!

Blessed

Colin has been having a rough week with naps probably due to teething. He has not been taking a nap at all for days and with each day he has been more exhausted. This has resulted in poor sleeping at night and early wake-ups. Today he finally took a decent nap, so I am really hoping he sleeps better tonight! Colin's nap is also my only time to shower, get dressed, brush my teeth, return emails, breathe...you know, the basics. :-) It is very nice to have clean hair.

Despite his lack of naps and extremely swollen gums, he has been as happy as ever. Colin is a smiley faced little man who brings me limitless amounts of joy. He runs around this house laughing and smiling all day long. Shannon told me today about someone who might lose his newborn son and it has reminded me very intensely how lucky that I am to have such a precious healthy light in my life. God has blessed me so much and I am thankful for sweet Colin every single day!

Early Morning Love

I just had to post this picture despite the poor quality...this is first thing this morning. We are all still in our pj's and Colin just rolled out of bed. I was sitting at the computer and Ferris Mewler decided he needed to join me. Colin also decided that he needed a Mama lap, so up he came. I thought Ferris would jump down with the arrival of Colin, but instead he stuck around and decided to let us pet him. Living with Ferris Mewler is akin to living with a wild cougar, so this was an important moment to capture. Please note the look on the cat's face...he is fully prepared to attack if need be. Regardless, Colin was very happy to be petting his kitty! ;-)