Colin is TWO!

It is now official...my precious baby boy is TWO YEARS OLD! Despite the slide/party fiasco, we managed to have a very special day on Monday. We met our good friends Laura and Kayrene and their respective kiddos at Paradise Pond for a morning of play and then everyone made the trek back to our house for brunch and presents. I made french toast casserole and it was beyond good! It was my first time making this particular recipe, so I was very pleased that it turned out! I generally like to taste test a recipe before serving it to a crowd. This was a make again dish for sure. The kiddos had cake and helped Colin open presents. It turned out to be such a wonderful morning...it was a rainy day, so the indoor play turned out to be the perfect plan. Once all the kids hit nap time, everyone left and Colin took a long rest. That evening we took him out for dinner at Jason's, which has turned out to be one of his favorite places to go. As far as Colin is concerned, you really can't beat a restaurant that has free soft serve cones. When we got home, we let him open up the remainder of his gifts and played the night away with all his new loot. He spent the whole day saying, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!", which simply melted my heart. Granted, he was wishing everyone from Jer to the dishwasher a happy birthday, but it was still pretty adorable. :-)


Jer was off work today as well, so we closed the birthday extravaganza with Colin's final present; a trip to the water park! We found a smaller park in Denton that has a HUGE children's pool area that was fantastic. Jer and I got to take turns riding the slides and we took Colin around the lazy river in giant tubes several times. I was shocked that he was willing to ride in our laps down the river, but he loved it! It was a perfect ending to a very sweet birthday.


My feelings on this birthday are harder for me to write about, I have so many mixed emotions. On one hand, I feel like it was yesterday that I was in the hospital having him and on the other hand, it feels like an eternity ago. For the first 18 months of his life, he seemed like a baby to me. He still took occasional bottles, was rocked to sleep every night, mostly babbled and was just a sweet baby boy. This spring he has completely changed into so much of a little boy...talking, rough housing, displaying a sense of humor, sleeping in a big bed and generally being a little kid. This is easily my favorite stage so far. Watching his little personality develop has been the greatest gift and he is so funny and sweet. Now that his words have progressed, he has stopped a lot of the major meltdowns and is much happier than he was a few months ago. He gives lots of hugs and kisses and loves to "get cozy" under the covers to watch his "shows". He has a new move here around his 2nd birthday that is so adorable that it nearly kills me. If I do something that he likes...such as give him a cookie or fresh juice or anything that he deems awesome, he says "good mom!" when I hand it to him. Not "thank you", but "good mom!". It is hysterical. Even his inflection is funny...he says it exactly like you would say, "good dog!". I could not love this baby more if I tried. :-) Finally, here are some pictures from the weekend of fun.

Running at the water park. He LOVED it!



Yea for water! :-)


This place was kid heaven.

All smiles during his birthday dinner. I love that face!!

He was beside himself to open those presents!

A shot of his goodies on the big day.

One of my all time favorite pictures! Colin, Scarlett and Ryan share brunch together during the party. They looked so adorable lined up on those stools!

Daddy and Colin playing with the bubbles at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house

Mom Mom showing him how it's done!

Colin spent half the day loving on Jasper and Solomon, the best doggies ever!

Daddy introduces Colin to the workings of the slip-n-slide. Such a great present from his grandparents!

Opening presents with his grandparents. He got pretty good at this!

Colin, I hope your third year on this earth is just as amazing as your second. I love you, sweet boy!

The Year Draws to a Close....

Colin's birthday weekend is behind us and I simply cannot believe it. His official 2nd birthday is tomorrow. This week has been filled with all sorts of insanity, which kept me busy enough to keep the nostalgia at bay. Jer and I had decided to forgo a regular birthday party this year in favor of doing something fun like a water park or night at Great Wolf Lodge. Two weeks ago, I started to second guess my decision and started looking for possible options for a backyard water slide. Colin has several little buddies and I started thinking it would be more fun to have his friends over to the house for classic cake and fun. This is when I went wrong...at that late date, I should have stuck to my original plan. Of course, once I get a wild hair, it can't be stopped. I found someone on Craigslist that was renting a giant water slide / splash park for half the price of everyone else. I contacted them and set up the slide for Saturday. I was beside myself with excitement. My family was coming anyway and now we would get to have so much fun and Colin's friends could come, too. I immediately sent out evites to the party. It was even too late for standard invitations in the mail! I should have known better...the slide turned out to be a scam and I found out late Wednesday night that we would not have it. I suppose I should be glad that I found out that early! We cancelled the party for Saturday. It was simply too hot outside to have a backyard party without water. Our HOA only allows 4 guests per resident at our pools and they are strict about it, so we decided that we would just call off the big extravaganza. It ended up working out fine and we have had a blast this weekend. Saturday was spent at the splash park, getting snow cones and swimming at the pool. On Saturday night, Ellen and Aubrey came over to bring Colin a present and hang out for a bit, which is ALWAYS a treat. This morning, we met Jer's parents at Old West Cafe in Denton, which is one of our all time favorite places. Colin was in great spirits and had a blast. After breakfast, we headed back to their house for presents and play on the new slip-n-slide! Colin absolutely adored it and the funniest part was watching Jer and Pop Pop try to use it. Pictures are coming, you can be sure! It has been a wonderful time and I am absolutely in awe that my baby boy is going to wake up tomorrow as a two year old. Below is Colin at birth, 12 months and now. Here comes the nostalgia. My baby!!

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.

Fourth of July Weekend in Pictures

There were so many wonderful moments from our weekend caught on my camera! Our whole family had the most wonderful time! The photo above was taken at my parents curb. My dad had flags lining the whole house. It looked beautiful and Colin loved it! Below is the mess of iced brownie at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house. He started his holiday off with a bang!

My beautiful twin sisters at Jackson's birthday and 4th of July bash. Meredith (left) is 7 months pregnant. So technically this picture is of Alieson, Mert AND Pryce. :-)

The BEST NEPHEW OF ALL TIME, Jackson. He had a great time at his big party!

Colin being all-American with his hot dog!

Colin taking charge at my dad's office. I love this picture more than any I have taken in a long time. My dad has been in this particular office for...I don't know...25 years? I used to show up there several times a week after school to ask for $20. :-) It is like a second home to me and seeing Colin in that seat smiling like that is so precious. Look at that grin!

Colin answering Duke's phone. He has wonderful leadership skills.

Colin and Mama enjoy the pool.

Duke and Colin share some ice cream. This was pretty much the highlight of BOTH their afternoons. Colin adores his Duke...he has been saying, "MOM! DUKE'S HOUSE!!" ever since we got home.

Hanging out with the best husband and daddy in the whole world!

Colin fresh and ready to go on the 4th! Such a dapper little man!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

I am writing tonight from the living room of my parents house...worn out and a little sunburned, but happy as can be. We have had such a special 4th of July this year and I wanted to be sure to post on the actual day, even though the pictures will have to wait until we get home. I have a LOT of good ones to share, but left our USB cable at home. We came to my hometown to celebrate Jackson's 4th birthday...we thought it was pretty cool to celebrate his "4th on the 4th". :-) His actual birthday was Wednesday and his party was today. Meredith and Cory threw a big bash at their pool and clubhouse and Colin had an absolute blast. There was lots to eat, lots of cake, and lots of swimming. Jer and Cory spent the entire time in the pool throwing Colin and Jackson all over the place, which was both adorable and scary at the same time. ;-) Meredith looked entirely too skinny for a woman who is 7 months pregnant and even wore a bikini. She is that woman who manages to look like a super model with a basketball belly. My sisters are really too much at times. :-) We had so much fun at the party and finally had to drag Colin home for a nap close to 3pm. This was WAY past his nap time and he fell asleep before I could get him all the way in the bed! It was crazy and wonderful. I guess the key is to spend hours in the pool getting thrown all over creation by your dads. We all took a rest and then regrouped for a quick dinner at Spring Creek. We decided at the very last minute to try to take Colin for fireworks and ended up watching a wonderful display right here at my parents house!!! WHO KNEW?! The country club not far from our neighborhood was putting on a show and we watched it from down the street. I still can't believe we were trying to find out where to go and it was right here all along! The show was great and Colin thought it was AMAZING. It was his very first fireworks display and he stopped what he was doing to watch, point, ohhh and ahhh, and make sure we were all watching too. It was precious. After a quick bath, Colin is now snugly sleeping and we are joining him! We are totally exhausted, but what a wonderful 4th! Our whole family together in one spot just celebrating! As it should be!! :-) Happy Birthday, America!!