The Little Things...

I have started making lists of the cute moments that stop me in my tracks...it is so easy to forget all the little stuff Colin does on a daily basis that makes me turn into mush. So here my list begins...and there will be a lot more where this came from!

When asked a question, Colin will frequently answer with the following: I don't remember, Mommy...do you remember? However, the word "remember" sounds like "ranimba". It is so cute that I can't stand it.

Colin fell down at the playground yesterday and scraped his knees. He calls them his "scape knees" and has been showing them to me all day. In the bath last night, he asked me to "put soap on my scape knees, Mommy" and followed that with, "Thanks for making my scape knees feel better". Then during the bath tonight, he informed me that we needed to go see Dr. Martin (his pedi) and let him fix them. "Mommy, Dr. Martin will make my scape knees go away". *melts from cuteness*

When Colin climbs into my arms, I always hug him and chant "my baby, my baby, my baby" in a sing songish voice. I actually started doing that when he was a tiny infant and it just stuck. A couple of days ago, I climbed into bed with him as he was waking up and said it very quietly as I hugged him. "my baby my baby my baby"....and I hear in a tiny little just woke up whisper..."my mommy my mommy my mommy". I thought I would die on the spot. :-)

We were all playing in the living room a couple of days ago and Jer mentioned to me that his stomach was bothering him. Colin bounced up from what he was doing and ran over to Jer. He pushed Jer to a lying position, pulled his shirt up and began "inspecting" his tummy. He quickly said, "I'm Dr. Colin and it's all better now". End of story. Don't be surprised if I tell this story at his graduation from medical school. ;-)

He is so precious about his praise. I pulled out the mop to clean up a bigger mess and Colin said, "Mommy, you a really good cleaner!" and clapped. I said thank you and he replied with his usual, "You welcome!" When I finished, he said, "Thank you Mommy, for cleaning the floor so good!". He is just joy.

When he wakes up in the morning, he must find both pets and ask how they slept. "Enzo, did you have a good sleep? Ferris, did you have a good sleep?"

If you are looking for something, he will at some point say, "It has to be around here SOMEWHERE!". Again...don't know why, but cutest thing ever. ;-)

I could type for hours about all the little things Colin does that I want to remember...so expect more random lists to appear soon. I just don't want to forget any of this! :-)

Three Christmases

This is going by just a little too fast...

Christmas 2007


Christmas 2008


Christmas 2009

Hugs

My little family was laying on the couch last night watching television. Colin and Jer were sitting on one couch and I was sitting across from them on the other. Colin climbed on Jer to hug him and demanded that I come over, too. "Mommy, come hug!" was his exact comment. So I head over and lay on top of Jer and Colin, making a Colin sandwich. Colin requests this move frequently, so this was nothing new. As I laid on top of them and we all mushed together in a hug, Colin said "I'm hugging my family!". I had tears well up in my eyes immediately and we hugged him even tighter. Just when I think he can't get any more adorable, he does. I am so blessed.

LOVE

I love Colin. I really really really love him. I love him in a way that transcends words. This is a rather obvious point, but one I feel like making regardless.

He is the sweetest little boy that I have ever known. Last night, he made Jer and I sit on the kitchen floor and play cars for the longest time. He would crouch down with a car in each hand and announce, "On your mark, get set, GOOOO!" and then shoot both cars across the kitchen to us. He peppered the conversation with things like, "Ooo, cars FAST!" and "This one REALLY fast!" and "Mommy and Daddy race cars!". Every now and then, it hits me like a ton of bricks that I no longer have an infant, but a car racing little boy. I don't know how long it takes for that feeling of shock to wear off, because I still get it all the time. He now races to the door when Jer gets home from work and says "Daddy! I so glad to see you!". When we read books, he will point out a character eating and say, "Colin can't eat that. Just a picture". He is incredibly polite, especially for a two year old. He says "excuse me" when the cat jumps in front of the television or when he needs to pass by someone at the park. He does not have to be told to say thank you, he does it on his own most of the time. If he asks for juice and I hand it to him, he says "tank you, Mommy!" in the most cheerful little voice. Before I became a mother, I never thought about what kind of personality my child would have. Now it is a source of never ending wonder for me...watching him and learning all the little things that make him Colin. He is sweet, sensitive, silly, and rambunctious.


He shocked me this morning at the park...we were walking down a path and Colin started to run into a very wooded area that lord knows what was growing in. I said, "Colin, no! We can't go in there! There might be scary stuff that we can't see!". I don't know why I used the word "scary", it just flew out. Colin immediately came back to my side and started to visibly shake, so much that it frankly startled me! I got down on his level and asked if he was okay, thinking something was really wrong. He said, "scary, Mommy!! help! I scared!". I felt so badly and tried to explain that I had used the wrong word and that the woods were not scary, just not for play. It did not exactly work and I was reminded how much he retains that I don't even realize. He knew what the word scary meant and I will remember not to use it lightly from now on! He constantly asks me what, why, and where things are. During the same park trip this morning, he saw a little boy playing with his cars which were identical to some that Colin has. He informed me that "Colin can't have cars. Those cars not Colin's". I was so impressed that he pointed that out all by himself and did not get upset. He just left the other little boy at play and went off to something else. He is a very cuddly boy who does not really like to play by himself. He always says, "Mommy, come sit!" and makes me do whatever he is doing. This does not lead to getting very much done during my days with him, but it does not bother me in the least. He still wants "Mommy hold you" (in other words, pick him up) and does not care that he is far too heavy to be carried. He likes for me to sit Indian style on the floor so that he can sit in my lap while he plays or watches TV.


I love this age. I do have moments where I miss eating out and wish he was more of an independent player. It can't be understated how much work a two year old is, but I adore him at this stage regardless. I don't ever want to forget what an adorable little baby bear he is right now! I am so lucky to be his mother.

These pictures are from today...this one sums up life with a 27 month old...running. :-)

I think the jeans make him look so much older!

First thing this morning...I went to make him breakfast and came back to find him in this position in the office. There is nothing better than Colin in pj's with fuzzy bed head. Cool Cat Hot Dog is one of his all time favorite books.

Super Giant October Update Post!!

There has been SO much going on for the past couple of weeks and I am behind in posting! We have been keeping very busy in our little household and I can't believe that Halloween is this weekend! Let me back track and try to update what has been going on.

*I took Colin to the State Fair of Texas a couple of weeks ago and we had an absolute blast! Alieson went with us and we made a whole morning out of it...we had been trying to go for several days, but it basically won't stop raining this month and we could never seem to get our scheduled lined up with a sunny day. We finally made it work on an overcast Thursday morning before Texas/OU weekend. We just made it before the end of the fair and I am so glad we did! We all ate corn dogs (I might have eaten two), shared a funnel cake and fried snickers bar, and finished things off with a fresh cherry limeade. The best time by far was the Little Hands Farm. There was an adorable children's play farm set up where the kids "worked" each little section of the farm and received something for their efforts. For instance, when you "fed" the chickens, you picked an egg and put it in your basket. Colin went through the entire farm and participated in each section perfectly! He milked a cow, planted seeds, tended the sheep and the whole nine yards. After he collected all of his items in his basket, he "sold" them to the store and was given a pretend dollar to buy a snack with from the general store on the way out. I was blown away that he carefully sold each item from his basket to the store...I was certain that he would not understand that he had to give away all the things he had loaded into that basket!! I was totally wrong and he was thrilled when they handed him his own money at the end. He picked out a little pack of fruit snacks and paid the girl his paper dollar at the register! It was honestly one of the most precious thing I have ever seen!! It is a memory that I will take with me forever. He also adored the petting zoo and fed every animal under the sun. I have never seen him have so much fun and I am really glad that we braved the elements and nap issues in order to attend. We will be back next year for sure! Here are some of the pictures:

Colin and Mommy feeding the cows...Colin LOVED this!

Colin picked out his hard earned snack for working the Little Hands Farm. SO CUTE!

Carefully carrying his basket of goods to the general store.

Feeding the chickens.

Colin and Alieson stand with Big Tex!

Mommy and Colin also get a shot with the icon!

*We took Colin to his second pumpkin patch visit of the season with not the best results. First of all, the Flower Mound pumpkin patch is just too crazy busy. We tried to go on a Sunday and that was a bad idea! It was total madness. Pumpkins were strewn about and the crowds were gigantic. Colin is not a fan of chaos like that and tends to quickly shut down when he feels overwhelmed, which he did. It was mere moments before he started chanting, "Mommy, go home!". This quickly changed to "Mommy, go Pop Pop's house!"...Jer's parents were with us and Colin figured it would be more fun just to go over there. :-) It was so busy that I was not even able to get a single picture of Colin standing by the cut-out characters, which is what I was after. I was dying for some cute matching pictures from last year to show how much he has grown, but that plan was not to be. We ended up at brunch, had a great meal and spent the afternoon playing with Mom Mom and Pop Pop's dogs, so Colin was happy none-the-less! Next year, we go on a weekday! MUCH better on a weekday!

Not exactly pleased with the crowd, but glad to push a huge pumpkin around. :-)
Stacking pumpkins with Mom Mom

Pouty face cuteness! :-)

*We attended a fantastic Halloween party with a big group of our friends on Saturday and had a great time. It was a party for the little ones and they all had a blast. Colin wore his skeleton shirt and I am just hoping he lets me dress him in his Spiderman costume for Halloween. Fingers crossed! :-) It was the perfect afternoon; good friends, lots of yummy food, tons of well behaved two year olds having fun...wonderful! I still can't believe how great they all were...there were zero meltdowns and Colin had a great time. We had to literally drag him out the door at the end. All of my friends have a second child or one on the way, so Colin was thrilled as usual to have babies to love on. I would never have imagined his reaction to babies...he loves them SO much. All the other two year olds were chasing each other around the yard and Colin spent a good deal of time helping the infants in the bouncer seats and kissing their heads. He is such a gentle little soul! Maybe he is destined to be a pediatrician one day and I will have to tell this story to embarrass him. :-) Regardless, it was a perfect evening and it reminded me that I am VERY blessed to share my life with such amazing friends!!

Lots of boys playing on the train table. Almost all of my friends have two year old boys...so cute!!

Extreme love for Halloween cupcakes!

Colin giving Pierce a big kiss!

*Last, but certainly not least, we all attended the Fort Worth Alliance Air Show on Sunday! Jer's parents met us here and we drove over together at about 1:30pm. I love love LOVE the air show...aviation is just simply part of me! There was non-stop entertainment and things were going fairly well until some of the fighter jets got rolling. Colin was petrified and basically attached himself to me while crying sadly. It never even crossed my mind that the noise would be a factor, but oh man, was it ever! Like a complete lunatic, I left the diaper bag in the garage without putting it in the car, where it might have been of some use! I had no snack, no juice, no emergency pacifier, no diapers, no wallet...nada. It is a good thing that Jer brought his stuff and was able to buy us snacks and drinks and get us set up in our lawn chairs. Things perked up...we found our friends and we all watched The Blue Angel's together, which is what I was DYING to see!! They were more amazing than I ever could have imagined! The weather was brilliant and I am so glad we went. Colin does not seem too worse for wear from the whole experience, although he does remind me several times a day that "Blue Angels TOO LOUD, Mommy!". Oops! :-) It really was a GREAT day!

Nathan, Kim and little man Hayden standing with Jer and Colin. We were all watching the Blue Angels.
Colin and Ryan share some Kettle Corn...this made them both VERY happy!

Mommy trying to get a picture with one unhappy little man! Too loud! :-)

Daddy and Colin check out the show....this was Colin's favorite part!

Two Years Ago...

My little snuggle bear....two years ago. I remember that he had just starting losing his newborn hair and I was exhausted because I had just gone back to work that week. I can't believe that that was exactly two years ago. I am SO glad that I was able to stop working about 3 months later. The days when Colin was 3- 6 months old are a blur to me because I hardly saw him due to my work schedule. He spent almost all his waking hours at Miss Anne's house, who was thankfully the sweetest lady in the world, but I feel like I missed out on this stage. Colin is having a rough week with sleep and I have been feeling very tired and in need of a vacation...this reminds me how lucky I truly am to be taking care of him full time. Despite my current exhaustion, I would never trade this time in a million years.

The Official Start to Halloween Season!

Yesterday was our first visit to the Pumpkin Patch for the season and we had a great time! This location is called "The Pumpkin Express" and is about 20 minutes from the house. Several of our friends and their kiddos met out there and the overcast day and cool temps made for the perfect atmosphere for a Halloween themed outing. They have an adorably decorated train station where you load up to ride the express over to the pumpkin patch, which is loaded with decorations, bounce houses, mazes and photo ops. Colin fervently refused to get on the train, which did not really surprise me. He LOVES playing with trains more than anything else, but for some reason he won't get on one. He actually does not like anything that resembles a "ride" of any sort, including the cars at places like Chuck E. Cheese. I am sure this is just a stage, but he was not having it AT ALL yesterday. Instead of riding, we walked over to the patch, which was just adorable. The pumpkin patch is one of my all time favorite places to go...nothing says fall like a field of orange pumpkins! Colin was in heaven getting to run wild around everything and check out all the goodies. The only down side was the mud...the constant rain that we have been getting left the fields in a gooey mess, so we were all pretty dirty once it was time to go home. On top of everything else, there were a couple of precious babies in our group, so Colin got to give out hugs to them the whole morning, which is still his favorite pastime.

In other news, Colin is STILL changing before my eyes and I seem to be blown away by something new every single day. His speech takes my breath away...he forms beautiful sentences right now and talks about everything he sees. Today was a BIG moment; he climbed up in my lap this morning and put his arms around me. He looked into my eyes and said, "I wuv you, Mommy". I started to cry and hugged him as hard as I could. He has said it once or twice with prompting, like he is repeating what you tell him to, but this was the first time that he told me completely unprovoked...like he knew what it meant and wanted to tell me. I just can't put into words how wonderful it was. He points out things he sees from the car window (Mommy! I see cows!) and acknowledges things that I did not realize he absorbed. At McDonald's today, he saw writing on the play area and said, "Look Mommy! Super letters!". He watches a show on PBS called "Super Why" and they look for letters in stories, calling them "super letters". I love seeing Colin pick up on things like that!! He has also started saying "Guess what?!" and when you guess, he says "NOOOO!" and starts rolling with laughter. He also has moved into the "what's that?" routine where he points at things endlessly and asks me what they are. This is one of his favorite games at the moment. He remembers his friends and asks about them, which really seems like a big boy thing to do. He uses the right words to ask for things and seems to laugh all day long. Overall, I love this new stage and am having a blast with him. I feel like I am watching him turn into his own little person before my eyes. He is joy, pure and simple.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

Colin regarding the scarecrow...

Colin and his best buddy, Hayden. Colin LOVES Hayden and even gave him an unprompted hug while they were playing. It was so sweet!

On the move!!

At the train station, right before telling me that he was NOT getting on the train. :-)

365 Days Later...

It is really a coincidence that I even noticed this, but I unknowingly took pictures of Colin in the same park almost exactly one year apart...literally off by only a couple of days. I was saving this week's park pictures into the "September 2009" folder and saw the "September 2008" folder and took a peek. Sure enough...there are pictures of Jer and Colin walking around in the exact same place last year. I was delighted to notice this and had the best time looking at the pictures side by side. It is amazing how much Colin has changed in a year...I thought he was such a big boy last fall, but he looks like a baby in comparison to the little boy I see staring back at me in the recent shot. He is so much taller and slimmer, his cheeks are no longer so puffy and his stance is that of a boy, not a baby. Last year at this time, I was beside myself over the fact that Colin was completely mobile and running around without falling down. Now he spends his park visits digging for snails with his daddy, throwing rocks in the stream, and telling me that he sees birds or likes the scooters and bicycles he sees the kids riding. It makes me smile to think that I can't even imagine him next year at this time...probably wearing big boy underwear and riding his own scooter. I find myself trying to memorize him so that I won't forget each of these little stages. I love him SO.

Late September 2008:

Late September 2009:

Colin at 25 Months

We are getting a new roof. It is LOUD. VERY VERY LOUD. Luckily they are close to finishing as we speak and I am so glad to finally have this mess taken care of! The new roof is courtesy of the hail storm from hell last spring and I can't express how much I never want to see hail again. For reasons that I can't fathom, Colin is currently sleeping as they machine gun nails overhead. The child wakes up if you crack a diet coke can, but sleeps through roofing. Only me. :-)

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the best part of being a mother is watching your child become his own person. I watch in awe at how fast he is growing and changing and I love to lay in bed at night and wonder what his future holds. What will his passion be? Will he play a sport? Love to read like me? Be a science geek like his dad? :-) There is nothing like a tiny baby in your arms, but it is even more amazing to see Colin as my little boy instead of an infant. Colin is turning into his own little man. There are several things that I have made note of lately, not the least of which is that I have been wrong about him. Colin and I spend a lot of time out and about now, playing with kids his age and in busy places. Every single time that we go out, a mother will lean in and say something to the effect of:

Is he always so quiet?
He is very shy!
He is a thinker, huh?
You have an introspective little one!

That last one was from yesterday when I took Colin to an indoor play park. Normally, the first thing out of my mouth is, "Oh no! Not at all! He is just quiet/shy/introspective when he first gets to a new place!". It hit me yesterday like a ton of bricks that I am quite wrong about this and I don't know how I have been so insane. Colin is absolutely a quiet thinker and extremely sensitive and will probably be called "introspective" at some point later in life. In the comfort of his own home, of course he is loud and silly. We are his home base! How Colin lives in the outside world is obviously a giant part of who he is and that part is without a doubt very sensitive and shy. He is a watcher...he closely watches everything and everyone around him. He inspects everything with precision and takes his time checking things out. When he plays with train tables, for example, he keeps a serious look on his face and does not tend to giggle or rough house with the trains. He will play happily forever with the trains on the track, while carefully putting them in the compartments and sliding them down the track. We have encountered several boys around Colin's age during these outings that play very rough. This is not a bad thing, boys are boys and toddlers at that! Yesterday, one boy was very pushy and shoved Colin away from the table. Colin stepped back and looked at him with a face that was clearly shocked. He did not cry or push back, but rather just stared at him like he was a bit crazy. ;-) He does not run up and take things away from other kids, as a lot of the toddlers his age do. That is not to say that he won't transition into a phase like that down the road, but for now, he is much more of a lover than a fighter. :-) He is very sensitive, however, and once he decides that a place is too loud or rough, he will let you know he is ready to go. He is not a big fan of strangers touching him and he likes to take his time to get to know people before he gives them his two dimpled smile. Most of all, he does not like to be pushed or rough housed with by other kids, especially ones he just meets. Despite the shyness that he has in public, he loves to go to new places and is always the first one to go check out everything he sees. He absolutely does not like to sit in a chair and watch movies. We took him to the IMAX movie "Dolphins" last week and he lasted about 10 minutes. He would have watched the whole movie if he had been allowed to move seats when he wanted and check out all the stairs and speakers and projectors. He likes to walk around, try everything out, experience everything by feeling it and seeing it up close. He is very sweet and loving. His obsession with babies continues with him announcing "baby!" when he spots an infant carrier while we are out. He says "HUG MOM!" and holds his hands out when he wants to put his arms around me. There have been several moments in the last few weeks when I have had to reprimand him for something and he shocks me with "I sorry, Mom". I can't express how that melts my heart. He talks in these sweet little sentences now and surprises us with how funny he can be. He will offer you a cookie, but if you go to take it, he will grab it away and then roll with laughter. He asks to "get cozy" and will pull the covers over both of us in bed to watch his shows. When we are laying together, he will pat my hair and the side of my face very lightly and say "Mommy, Mommy" in a sing song little voice. He has turned into a beautiful, precious little boy who I just can't imagine life without. For all of these quiet, sweet things he does, he still jumps on the furniture, yells at the top of his lungs and throws giant tantrums when I won't let him do something he wants. I must emphasize that he is no less a "terrible two" than the rest of them! However, beyond that inevitable part of him, he is such an interesting and brilliant little man.

Dust Off The Yearbook...

One of my favorite things to do in the world is go through the closets in my parents house. They still live in the house I grew up in and in every nook and cranny is a memory. I took these pictures of my high school letter jacket during my last visit...I need to spend some time filling this journal with tidbits from my life that Colin can revisit one day himself. My own mother was a cheerleader and I have always adored looking back at her life before "mom".

My high school was, and is, old. The building is old and the traditions are old...the school opened in 1958. My mother was the head of the English department (and AP Senior English teacher) for almost my entire childhood and did not leave the position until 1999 when she moved to Director of Advanced Studies for the school district. Growing up with a high school teacher meant that I grew up in that school almost as much as my own home! In fact, my mom arranged for me to ride the school bus from middle school to the high school in order to meet her when she got off work. I remember vividly getting off the bus at all of 12 years old and walking to her classroom in "A unit". Everything seemed so massive and her students in her last period classes always treated me like a little mascot. I thought they were very old and very cool. I went to all the games, plays and drill team performances from what feels like the beginning of time. I could not wait to get there myself and it felt like it took forever to be my turn. Most of all, I was beside myself to be on the drill team. As a little girl, I would sit in the bleachers and tap my feet to the music while watching in awe of what I considered the most beautiful girls in the whole world. I started taking dance at around 3 years old, so I was ready ready ready!! I just knew I would die waiting for my chance to wear bright red lipstick and white boots on the field during a Friday night game. :-) Once in high school, the wait continued...freshman girls had to be in "Cheering Squad", which was incredibly lame but being on campus and near the drill team was enough to keep me happy. Sophomores were in "Pep Squad", which was basically JV drill team and a requirement in order to try out for the real deal. The real thing was, of course, The Southern Belle Drill Team, which was comprised of only juniors and seniors. Tryouts were in the spring and it was a giant deal...looking back, it was too big of a deal...the stress on the girls trying out was "Lifetime Made For TV Movie" worthy. Luckily, I made the team both years in a row and had the wonderful chance to live out my childhood dream. We were busy girls...dancing at all the football games, pep rallies, camps, spring show, basketball games...you name it, we were the entertainment. Our dress uniform had a white hat that tied under your chin and it was big time trouble if it came off. Therefore, right before we went on the field, we would pull them so tight that you could hardly swallow...not to mention the 400 bobby pins on the inside. When we came off the field, the Belle Guards (i.e. super cute boys that we voted on to follow us around!) would come around and loosen the straps before we passed out. That makes me roll with laughter thinking back on it! We were not allowed to move when standing in position on the sidelines, so the boys ran around yanking our hats loose! Goodness, I have so many memories that this post could be days long! Another memory of note...my senior year, I was the shortest girl on the team, and therefore I lead the team out on the field to our fight song played by the band (we were in a height line). It was my job to count hash marks and stop the whole team in the right place on the field. My junior year, I was second in line and did not have to worry about it. I remember that first game staring up into the burning white lights and the giant stands and thinking..."HOLY CRAP! What if I go too far?!?!". I was taking giant deep breaths with my plastered on smile and praying to God above that I did it right. I did. :-) At drill team camp my junior year, I accidentally left one of my white keds in the dorm room. We did not go back to the dorms until after dinner, so this was VERY bad. Not to mention that I was a "Baby Belle" and did not want to mess up! I got demerits (of course) and also had to dance on the burning August concrete for most of the day with one shoe on. I was very happy for jazz class in the gym because I had both of my damn jazz shoes! HA! Anyway, the shoe thing became a huge inside joke to this day and my oldest friends still call me "shoeless" and take pictures with one shoe when they go places. (Melanie and Melissa!) Speaking of Melanie and Melissa...two of my oldest and best friends...they always got me in trouble. We were not allowed to eat in the stands during games, but they always had bags of chips and snacks in their bags. They would eat the whole game and I would put one cracker in my mouth and hear our director scream, "CHALNA! ; DEMERIT!". Everyone thought it was just soooo funny. Our annual fundraiser was a huge car wash that took place in four locations across town and the whole drill team and pep squad worked in shifts at them. All the boys in the whole school would take their trucks out "mudding" the night before and we would have lines of red clay covered pick-ups to wash while the boys started water fights and tried to be awesome. I can see those afternoons in my head...we had so much fun, but I don't think the cars were very clean.

My memories from those sweet days are so precious to me, as are all of my friends that shared it with me. I would love for ya'll to leave comments of your favorite memories from drill team, or high school, or your own dance teams if you did not go to school with me. :-) I could go on forever, but Colin will be up from his nap any minute and I have dinner to make. How life has changed!

The Southern Belle Drill Team, 1993 - 1994. This is my junior year. I am the very last girl on the right, second from the top perched on the high ladder. I was SO EXCITED to be taking that picture! :-)
This is just after I made it the second time, joining the Senior Line. The girls hugging me are Ann and Sarah, two of my big sis's.
My big sis Sarah hugging me before the Red/White game, which was the spring game and first performance of the new line. I thought I was a rock star for being a big shot senior. ;-)

Two Very Special Friends

Last Friday night was a magical evening! First, a little background...when I found out that I was pregnant with Colin, I joined a message board for mothers expecting babies in July 2007. The board was wonderful and it was awesome to have a large group of women to talk to who were literally going through everything at the exact same time that I was! On the board, I was immediately taken to two women...April and Kimberly. They both seemed like kindred spirits to me and I found myself following their lives just as I would a best friend that I knew in person. Kimberly moved about 15 minutes down the road from me, so we got the chance to become good friends in real life and I value very much the friendship that I was able to make with her whole family. April and Kimberly both keep blogs like I do, and from that I feel like I know them both like family of my own. April should honestly be my sister...she and I end up saying and doing the exact same things and our boys have been like little clones of each other through action and mannerisms. I just adore these girls and could not be happier to know them!!! We found out last week that April, who lives in Oklahoma, was coming to our area for a family event and that we could all three finally get together in person. I was so excited that I could barely sleep! :-) On Friday night, all three of our families met at Babe's (because really...you must take all possible excuses to eat fried goodness) and went to the splash park around the corner afterwards. Despite the 100 degree temps and having to wait outside for an hour for a table, it ended up being a magnificent evening and lived up to every expectation. The boys all managed to get through the long wait and dinner without major meltdowns and they had an absolute BLAST at the park. Since all three husbands were there, the girls actually got a chance to talk while they chased the toddlers. It was so soothing to be able to talk for an extended period of time to good friends like that!! I must say that it brings me a lot of peace and happiness to have women in my life that are going through the same ups and downs that I am and can share in the experience. I have been a self admitted "guys girl" in the past and generally shied away from what I considered girly interactions...I have moved on from that and now value these relationships beyond words. I am so honored to have these women in my life and I hope that when I look back on this blog post in years to come that I still count them as close friends. Now how is that for a cheesy Chalna post?!? Would you expect anything less? :-) Here are some pictures:

This one is Kim's son Hayden at the splash park. He was absolutely hysterical!!! He spent the whole evening waiting for those giant water buckets to rain down on his head, much to the amusement of the grown-ups! I love that little boy!

Colin watching Hayden in disbelief. He could not believe that anyone would want a bucket dumped on them. :-)

From left, Hayden, Colin and April's son Schafer. This is the only shot that I managed to get with all three boys and barely at that! :-)

Chalna, Kim and April...in one place!! Amazing!! :-)

Colin gives Schafer a pat on the back while waiting for dinner at Babe's. Could they be any more adorable?!? I think not!

The Boys

I am in love with these two pictures of Jackson and Colin. There could not be two more adorable cousins! I caught these pictures with my mom's camera and finally got them downloaded...these are from our June blueberry trip. I adore the action shot most of all! Hysterical!! How much fun will it be when they are grown men to look at that picture!? Such precious little boys.





This one is Colin having a snack at my parents kitchen table. I absolutely adore the look on his face. I can't believe this big boy is the little baby that I gave birth to almost two years ago. His birthday is in one week. Unbelievable!

The Best Six Years

Today is my sixth wedding anniversary. How on earth it has been six years is beyond me. It seems like just yesterday that we were running around Las Vegas in our wedding finery. We have had a quiet and uneventful day...my sister is going to babysit for us tomorrow so that we can have our official date. Today we woke up and treated ourselves to take-out Mexican breakfast (our favorite!) and then went to order Colin's birthday cake for next weekend. We stopped for ice cream cones and lunch (in that order) and managed to make it home in time for Colin's nap. This evening we took Colin to McDonald's for dinner and playtime. Quite a night on the town, eh? This is our kind of day, though, and it was wonderful to have Jer off work and all of us hanging out together as a family. There is nothing more that I need in the world. This is my random ode to us at six years:

Jeremy is my very best friend in the whole world and the most wonderful husband ever. I literally cannot picture my life without him. We have long since entered the stage of our lives where we complete each others sentences and know what the other is thinking across a room with just a glance. We have the same ridiculous sense of humor and make each other laugh all the time. We love to cozy up in our bed after Colin goes to sleep and watch our endlessly recorded hours of crime shows on the DVR. Every night, Jer makes himself a large glass of ice water and every night I drink half of it to take a pill and every night we laugh over it. He texts me every day when he gets in his car to tell me he is coming home and that always makes me smile, even after all these years. Yesterday, he told me my eyes looked pretty. He gets on to me for not taking my vitamins and being too tan. We make utterly inappropriate jokes to each other all the time. We lay in Colin's bed together every night to read stories. He changes the oil in our cars and fixes everything that is broken. He is great at assembly and even enjoys putting stuff together. We sleep with a silly dog in between us and usually a shaggy cat at our feet. We argue in bed over who gets "sticks", which are Enzo's long pointy legs, and who gets "smooth", which is his soft fuzzy back. I usually win and Jer gets poked by dog legs all night. :-) He looks handsome beyond words all the time and nobody looks better in a crisp white polo and tie than Jeremy. The bathroom always smells deliciously like his cologne after he leaves for work and I always take a deep breath of it when I pass through to get dressed. He is still my prince charming. I love him SO! Here are some favorite shots of us from six years ago:

Kissing in the limo after the wedding! We are officially newlyweds! I was bursting with joy when this picture was taken.

Jer and I during our engagement dinner outside Philly. Jer's parents took this shot...we look so young and happy in this picture. This will always be one of my favorite memories.
Sitting right seat with Jer prior to take-off. Trust me, the professionals took over and I watched movies in the back. I love nothing more than flying around with Jer and watching him at work. He is such an amazing pilot. We had just gotten engaged.

Really, how could you not post this one?! Me, in my bride shirt, ordering pancakes with a burger and onion rings. This was the late night after our arrival in Vegas. We had to get our licenses and it was like 2:00am to us because we were from the east coast. I remember that I was dying of starvation and this is what I ordered back at the hotel. Love it!

Lounging at the pool in Vegas, the day after the wedding. Happy!!

As we speak, Jer is putting new strings on his guitar with the hopes of learning some Laurie Berkner Band songs for Colin. I don't know how successful this endeavor is going to be because neither one of us can sing. Hopefully the little man will just enjoy hearing the songs, even if they are not properly sung. ;-) If you would like to see pictures from the wedding, I posted last year about the actual event and attached some great shots of wedding bliss. Take a peek if you feel like joining me on memory lane. Heck, I can't believe it has been a YEAR since I wrote that post! Crazy! Happy Anniversary, sweet husband!!

5th Anniversary Post: One Year Ago Today!

Colin at 23 Months Old and Counting!

It seems to me that Colin is changing by leaps and bounds every single day. Things are happening so fast that I have started a little note pad of things he does so that I can remember them for long enough to write them on the blog. The difference between 18 months and 24 months is so huge! In January, I was nervous that Colin would be a mute. He was still such a baby then. That seems like a fuzzy distant memory now. The past three months in particular have been insanity with how much he has grown in every way! I am going to add a few bullets here for memory's sake.

*Colin talks up a storm now and a lot is understandable. He does not just say words, he has conversations with you and says sentences to me like, "Mom! Put Arf food up!" (Enzo is still "Arf") and "Mom! Dats good juice!". He starts out all sentences with a very emphatic "Mom!" which makes me smile every single time.

*He only calls me "Mom". I have never referred to myself that way, in fact I have always said Mama. Jer calls me Mom and Colin picked that up and has stuck with it. It makes him seem like such a big boy!

*He tells me to "get up" and "watch shows". I will lay in bed with him for a few minutes in the morning as he wakes up and when he is ready, he leans all the way into my face and says, "Mom, GET UP, peas!" At night if I try to put him to bed too early, he will run back to the couch, turn on the TV, and announce, "Mom! Dad! Watch shows!".

*Starting last weekend, he covers his face when any stranger says hello to him and announces, "No, no! I SHY!". This is crazy adorable and I am going to try to get it on film. When he meets new people, he always tucks his head and acts bashful and I would sometimes say that he is acting shy. He picked it up, obviously, and now makes a huge production out of it. I have pointed out to him that announcing you are shy means that you are not, in all actuality, shy.

*He now walks backwards around the house. Last night he grabbed my hand and said, "hey mom! backwards!" and made me do it with him. I have no idea where this one came from, but it is pretty adorable.

*He yells, "READY, SET GO!!" and takes off running. He starts running when he says set....which cracks me up. I also don't know where he picked this up...probably one of his shows.

*He finally said "Mert"!! My sister was thrilled beyond belief when he said it over the weekend. He now walks around the house pointing her out by name in pictures. It kind of takes the fun out of our ongoing family joke with Meredith. ;-)

There are more, but I will end this post for the time being. I leave you with a video from dinner tonight. I made corn on the cob and cut Colin's off for him. He was not pleased about that and grabbed my ear off the plate. I did not think for a second that he would eat it off the cob, but just watch and see. He just gets more adorable by the day.

Chefs, Daydreams and Showers

I am not one to wax poetic about my cooking, but I am pretty sure that I made the best roasted chicken of all time tonight. It was lick your plate good. It was better than any that I have ever had in any restaurant. I mean this was SERIOUSLY good. I also made a salad that was to die for. Am I bragging? Yes. ;-) I never cooked before I stopped working and it has been my mission in life to become an excellent chef. I want Colin to love my cooking and I have been working pretty hard on this goal. I am dying to be the house that all of Colin's friends want to come to because I make the yummiest treats and have the most welcoming home. I have this image in my head...piles of cleats and gym bags cluttered at my back door, shouts and laughs filling the kitchen and a mess of boys clamouring to get second helpings during dinner at my house after the game. I know it is probably silly, but I picture things like that all the time. I love to imagine what it will be like to have a handsome young man living in my house and all the fun that will go along with it. ANYWAY, I made garlic lemon roasted chicken tonight and I am finally at the point that I can make changes to recipes and do my own thing. This turned out honestly beyond what I thought I could accomplish and it was so simple! I would have taken a picture, but we destroyed the bird before I remembered! If anyone is interested in the recipe, I will post it soon. Since I did my own thing, I want to make sure I remember exactly what I did before I share it. I don't want to miss a thing in translation because this baby was GOOD. ;-) I cook a LOT, but rarely feel the need to devote a whole blog post to it, so you know I am serious about this. haha!

In Colin news, we added something new to our nighttime ritual tonight! Jer takes a bath with Colin every night in our big tub; it is their "man time" together and Colin adores it. I lay his towel out on the bed and always scoop him out of the tub and take over for pajama duty. Jer will get dressed and join us in Colin's bed for family story time, which is basically Colin picking out what books he wants to read and who is going to read them and how many times. Tonight, Jer got out of the tub and jumped into the shower while I got Colin out of the tub. He asked Colin if he wanted to try the shower out. Colin was immediately all smiles and trying to climb out of the tub in record time. I stood him in front of the shower door and he first stuck a toe in, hesitated and then walked in to stand beside dad. I shut the shower door fully thinking that Colin would want to immediately get back out. He pressed his hands on the glass and I opened the door. Colin said, "NO MOM! CLOSE!". Well, then. I closed the door as directed and then stood back to watch. Colin loved the shower. We have a shower head that comes off the wall and Jer had it down at Colin's level. He was laughing and washing Jer and himself and jumping up and down. It was one of those adorable moments that you know you will always remember. As I suspected, he did not want the shower to end. We turned off the water and Jer stepped out, leaving Colin standing in the shower stall, holding the shower hose and marching around in the water remaining in the bottom. He started chanting, "MORE SHOWER!" and I told him that we used all the water and the shower had to go night night. He was none too pleased about it. I have the distinct impression that bath time is now going to require both a bath and a shower. Well after the bath, Colin ran back into our bathroom chanting, "MY SHOWER MY SHOWER!". I will now put in writing that my husband has created a monster. He started it. ;-)

The Joys of Summer!

Despite my back troubles, things are going very well here in our little household. Colin's new bed is a lifesaver and he is in such good spirits these days. He is so happy and comfy in his big bed that I am almost sorry that I did not move him sooner. Who would have guessed that was what he wanted...he still seems so young for the transition. He is a big guy, though, so it would make sense that he felt crowded in his crib. He seems so little in the great big sea of bed he sleeps in now, which I would imagine is exactly what he likes about it. There are no more tears and screams when he wakes up, just calls to come get him. I love it!

We have also been a lot more active with our friends in the past few weeks, which I am enjoying just as much as Colin. We live very close to a little college town, Denton, and they have been hosting a "Concert on the Square" and "Twilight Concert on the Square" every Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening through May and June. We have been several weeks in a row on both days and have had so much fun. Jer has been working quite a bit lately, so it has been so nice to have these fun things planned for Colin and I. Different local bands set up on the big courthouse lawn and everyone brings picnic blankets and food and we all hang out under the trees while all the kiddos dance. Colin has come out of his shell quite a bit with all the extra interaction with other toddlers. I love nothing more than "small town Texas" and this really fits the bill...the square is typical of old Texas with all the historical buildings and big trees. It is always such a sweet gathering of families and friends and they even have twinkling lights in all the trees to add to the fun. Colin has become quite attached to my friend Laura's little baby boy Greyson. He is six months old and Colin sits beside him and strokes his hair and cheeks, plays with his toes and kisses him. Today when I announced to Colin that it was time to go "dancing", he shouted, "BABY! BABY! BABY!". It was too much! Here is a shot taken last week of Colin going in to kiss "his baby".

We have also been to lots of parks, play dates and pools...the beginning of the summer has been a joy for us! I am very thankful for my hard working husband who is the only reason I am able to spend my days with our precious son. This is such a gift! I will leave you with another hysterical shot of Colin with his favorite baby...Laura got this one and it is CLASSIC! :-)