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.

A Very Good Boy!

It seems like forever ago, but there was a time when Enzo was our only baby. We purchased him just a few months after we moved to Dallas, in early 2004. I had been dying for a dog and we stumbled onto Enzo during a leisurely outing to a pet store. There was a woman holding our puppy in her hands...literally in the palm of her hands...and he looked like a baby deer. :-) We just knew; it was love at first sight. It was not long after that happened that I learned about puppy mills and the perils of buying from pet stores, so while we will only be adopting from now on, I still would not trade Enzo for the world! He quickly became our precious baby (along with Gretchen the cat, aka Mitts, who had been with me forever). In those early days, we were young and living in the city...I would drop Enzo off for "doggie daycare" every single day on my way to work. Yes, he was very spoiled. I also joined a meetup group of Italian Greyhound owners and we went to several meetups at swanky little dog friendly cafes across Dallas. Those were such fun days; utterly and completely different from our lifestyle now as suburban parents. I look back on those days and get a little melancholy...I would certainly not trade my life now, but it is fun to think back to the time when having Enzo was as much responsibility as we could muster. :-) Enzo has not been to doggie day camp since I left work and we have not been to a meetup in ages. There was an event scheduled in Denton yesterday, so we jumped at the chance to take Enzo for some fun with other Italian's. There is nothing cuter than a pack of Enzo's running around all over the place! Colin had a blast chasing everyone and Enzo was a little nervous, but seemed to have a good time seeing his peers. Times have certainly changed, but Enzo is still my baby and still sleeps under the covers with us every night. He may not have his own day care anymore, but he is very well loved!

Here is Enzo, hiding behind Colin and Daddy. You know Enzo is nervous when he chooses to huddle close to Colin. :-) I love how he is peering between them!

Colin LOVED chasing all the Iggies! Please note how small those two black ones are...Enzo is on the big side of the breed anyway, but with all the extra grilled cheese sandwiches these days...he was HUGE in comparison!

A Star is Born...

I seriously just entered this picture in the GapKids casting call contest. Am I a huge dork, or what?? ;-) I was shopping online for Colin and when I went to gap.com, the contest was the first thing on my screen. I thought, eh...why not!? I have NEVER entered something like this, nor do I think anything will come from it. First of all, they try to get you to send the link on your entry to friends so that they will "vote" for your child. I hate that kind of thing and refuse to do it, so if votes count, we are out. Second of all, the picture is just a poor quality shot from my camera. Third of all, there are something like 90 billion entries. Winners in the age groups apparently appear in a Gap ad and get a $1,000 gift card for the store. I could spend $1k in that store FAST. Anyway, I am still laughing at myself for actually entering Colin, but I figure that Gap would be very lucky to have those dimples showing off their clothes. I know that I would buy anything he is selling! :-)

We had a cold front move through last night during a giant storm, so our weather was actually chilly for the first time today. It never got out of the 50's, which felt frigid in comparison to the humid 85 degrees it was yesterday. Colin woke up in the middle of the night last night during the storm and was crying out, "Mommy! Thunder!", which I thought was both adorable and tiring. :-) I spent a couple of hours in his bed getting kicked all over the place (Colin is a wild sleeper!) and finally extricated myself at around 4:00am to head back to my bed. Sadly, I could not fall back asleep and finally dozed off at 7am...just moments before Colin was up for the day. Needless to say, I am running on empty today! Luckily, the cool weather kept my spirits up! After a long trip to Indoor Safari with Colin and a trip to JC Penny's and Wal-Mart, we came back home to cook a festive fall dinner. I made the first batch of my homemade chili and cornbread for the season and we had the inaugural lighting of our fireplace!! The food turned out great and the fire was WONDERFUL! We have not had it lit in two years...last season was just too scary with Colin so young, so we skipped it all together. This year is perfect; he listened to us explain about the fire and what it is and why we never touch it. We then lit the fire and put the screen up. He did not go near it one time! He pointed it out a few times from afar and we sat in front of it with him in our laps to "get warm". I can't believe how awesome he was...he is getting to be such a big boy! He is now fast asleep and after this post, I am going straight to bed to make up for last night. How did I stay up all night when I was in my twenties?!?! :-)

One last tidbit...I ordered Colin's Spiderman costume last night, so we are all set for Halloween! A couple of days ago, I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween and he immediately said, "Spiderman!". I don't have a clue where he got this from, as he does not even remember what Halloween is, but I asked him on several other occasions over 48 hours and got an emphatic "Spiderman!" every single time. Therefore, Spiderman it is! He is going to be so cute!

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. :-)

Giant Weekend of Fun!!

Hello Fall!!!!!!!

giving some love to his Mommy at the Zoo


We have had a wonderful and very busy weekend! Jer was off work on Friday, so we headed over to Frank Buck Zoo in nearby Gainesville. It is a tiny little zoo that is absolutely ADORABLE and the perfect size for a toddler to explore. Colin loved the petting zoo and the chance to feed some very hungry goats. They also have a fantastic park and train ride, so Colin was in heaven. He zonked out the second we got back into the car and slept the whole way home. The weather was sunny and 70 degrees...I think we are officially done with screaming heat until next year, thank goodness!!

Saturday was a rainy mess of a day, but we had Aubrey's 2nd birthday party to attend and Colin had a blast. He has been doing really well lately with large groups of people and seems to have worked through a lot of his sensitivity to big group settings. Of course, it helps that he has known Aubrey since the day she was born. :-) He ate a ton of pizza and checked out all the awesome presents. There was no nap that day and he started to melt down pretty fast as it got later, so we headed home for some Chinese food and cozy time. In my opinion, any day that ends with good Chinese take-out is a winner. It was so great to spend time with Ellen and her family...I love them all so much. She is pregnant again and is just finishing up her first trimester. I am so happy for her and a little jealous; we were pregnant together with Colin and Aubrey and it feels strange not to be going through this with her again! However, I am so excited and can't wait to find out what she is having! My bet is another girl! I have had a good time looking at Aubrey's 1st birthday post...these two have grown up a LOT this year!!

Colin checking out Aubrey's loot

Aubrey and Colin while she opens her gifts

I love this...the face I got when I told Colin that he could not have her present.

Now, SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! Our good friends The Roberts invited us over for a Cowboy's vs. Broncos party at their house and we had the best time, despite the Cowboy's losing the game in the last second and the fact that Jer had to work, so he missed out on the fun. Everyone brought appetizers and we munched all afternoon while the kids played and the men watched the game. The girls were busy chatting and taking care of the little ones, but I managed to watch a good deal of the action. :-) Colin and Hayden had on matching Romo jerseys and were absolutely adorable. They refused to both look at me for any sort of decent picture, but at least I got a couple. Colin thinks Hayden has the best toys ever and I had to bribe him with a cookie to even get him out the door to go home. All the kids had a great time and I love that they are finally old enough to play together. Colin was on his best behavior and I was SO PROUD of him!! He played quietly and nicely, he shared well, there was no throwing or tantrums and generally it was the perfect afternoon. He has been an excellent little boy all weekend and I kissed him extra hard tonight as I was tucking him into bed. I thanked him for being the best baby that any mama could ask for and he said, and very sincerely I might add, "You welcome Mommy". Love that boy.

Baby Pierce gives Colin a kiss! SO SWEET!

Two "romo" boys...they looked ADORABLE!!

sweet boys!!

Last, but not least, Colin shows off his awesome new long sleeved pj's for the cooler weather. It finally cooled way off here tonight, so we busted them out after bath time. Colin loves them and was more than happy to show off for a picture. It was the perfect end to a very busy and joyous weekend.

YEA FOR FALL!!!

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:

Updates for a Rainy Day

It is raining. It won't stop raining. I don't recall the last time we had weather like this around here...we are well over a week now of dreary rain soaked days. I actually LOVE a cool overcast day, but the constant downpour is keeping us indoors and keeping Colin stir-crazy. I feel like I am living in the Twilight books, but without the awesome vampires to keep me company. :-) I am just not in the mood for composing proper paragraphs at the moment, so here are random updates in bullet format. Ha!

*I had a girls night out with friends on Wednesday and that was a treat! We celebrated my friend Eren's birthday with dinner and margaritas at Abuelo's and we laughed so hard that my face hurt afterwards. It was a wonderful break and reminded me how lucky I am to have friends going through the same things that I am. There is not a man alive (or childless woman for that matter) who wanted to overhear our conversation. There are just some things that only mothers can empathize with and find absolutely hysterical. :-)

*Colin has been trying relentlessly to lose his nap. Needless to say, this turn of events has not made me happy. He won't lay down in his bed at all now for naps and will NOT sit in his room and play quietly, as so many of my friends do with their kids. Lately we have gotten in my bed together and watched a show, during which he would fall asleep. That trick has also stopped working as of late and I am starting to give up hope. He is SO fussy in the evenings without a nap and still falls asleep in the car with ease if he is tired, so I know he still needs it. Yesterday, he fell asleep in the car at 11:30am, so today I tried a new approach and we got in my bed at 11:30, which is a couple of hours before his normal nap time was. Sure enough, although it took 30 minutes, he did fall asleep. I don't know if it is a fluke...only time will tell. But it is entirely possible that I was missing the window and putting him down too late. This whole sleep thing is very fluid...as soon as I think I have things figured out, he changes everything completely. I am praying that I can keep the nap going for several more months...I need that time just as much as he does!

*Colin is still amazing me every day with his speech. He now speaks in sentences and surprises me constantly with things I had no idea he knew. As of only a few days ago, he tells me "what hurts". Mothers know...you spend so much time with non-speaking children trying to figure out what is wrong and praying that you guess right. Colin came up to me out of the blue and said, "Mama, this ear hurts!". I was blown away. I took him to the doctor and sure enough, he had drainage in the throat and his nose was totally stuffed. The doctor said his Eustachian tubes were probably popping and causing his ears to hurt. I love this new stage! If he is crying and I ask what he hurt, he will tell me exactly...hurt head or hurt toe...he tells me now!! It's the little things, good people!

*The speech progression has also brought about a new stage that I find both wonderful and a mess at the same time. He now tells me what he wants to eat. The problem with that is the obvious...I often don't HAVE what he wants to eat or it is not an appropriate choice. As in, "GRAPES!" or "CHICKEN BITES!" or "WONDER PETS GUMMIES!". Okay, first of all, this is totally my fault. I never EVER should have shown Colin that something as amazing as Wonder Pets Gummies existed. Now he wants them for breakfast. Um, no. Well....mostly no. Some mornings I am just too tired and give in. Is that bad? :-) Anyway, when this box is done, I am reserving the purchase of Wonder Pets Gummies for grocery store meltdowns only. Which means that we will have a new box in two days. Never mind.

*I cut my own bangs two days ago and they look HORRIBLE. I really must stop doing this. I keep trying to grow them out and then I have a panic attack because they are constantly in my face and then I cut them. I need medication to stop cutting my freaking bangs. Sometimes I do a good job and they look okay. This time...not so much. I look like a 12 year old. MUST. STOP. THIS.

*My mom gave me a copy of The Neely's cookbook and I can't stop cooking from it. Everything is SO GOOD. I love to cook and now I am really going crazy. We are going to be very fat people if I don't go back to "Cooking Light" in short order. ;-) I have also gotten addicted to Pioneer Woman's new website, Tasty Kitchen. It is the most addicting thing, just like everything else she does. I am currently glued to my kitchen.

That should do it for this round of boring tidbits from my life. Did I mention that it is raining?