6th Month Pictures

So Colbie’s six month check up was just a few weeks ago and she weighed just a little over 16 lbs. I just weighed her right now because I was curious and she feels heavier and she was just a few ounces under 18 lbs.!!! I don’t know how this is possible in only a few weeks, but she has been eating like crazy and sleeping a little more than usual lately, so I guess it’s fair to say that she’s been going through a little growth spurt! In fact in the last two weeks, Colbie has slept through the night twice!!! Once, from 7-5 and and another time 7-4 (close enough!) I don’t want to get my hopes up though because it’s not consistent and Grayson was well over a year before he was sleeping through the night.

Colbie is also scooting all over the place these days and VERY close to crawling. Yesterday I had her on the floor in her room and went out to the kitchen to get some things and found her 1/2 way down the hallway following me! She gets up on all fours and does this little back and forth waddle and then flops back down on her belly.

We have had a lot going on here lately. I threw Becca a little surprise Baby Shower last Saturday at Olive Garden. Maggie got a lot of adorable little things and now we all can’t wait for her to get here!

Colbie had her first official “play date” (with someone her age that is) last Sunday when we had some friends, Hayley & Anthony over for dinner and their daughter Quinn (who is just a month or so older than Colbie). The girls had fun together; however, I think Grayson may have felt a little left out

I’ve been doing “toddler time” at the library with both Grayson and Colbie on Wednesdays and the Harkins summer movie program on Thursdays with Grayson. We also get to hang with Miss Molly and Becca! Grayson has really enjoyed the movies so far and does pretty well sitting the whole time…..aside from at least 1-2 potty breaks! In a couple weeks we will start Mommy and Me swim classes again, which I have both kids signed up for. I was bummed that I couldn’t get Grayson into the pre-school class since he has been doing so well lately in our pool. For the last couple of months he swims on his own with his little floaties and does awesome! Unfortunately, he will be just 2 months shy of being old enough for the Parks and Rec pre-school class.

DeeDee and her Great Granddaughter taken last Sunday at my parents for a Father’s Day brunch.

Getting ready for bed.

Colbie continues to eat pretty much everything you offer her. She’ll even let Grayson feed her! It is so wonderful, especially having had one that was (and still is) the COMPLETE opposite. Grayson has gotten a lot better, but you still have to pull and arm and a let sometimes to get him to eat…..he is much more interested in playing and just being a little goofball! I’ve been making a lot of my own baby foods just because the Gerber foods are so limited and it is fun to let her enjoy a wide variety of foods. So far she had tried and liked everything from avocados, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, carrots, peas, cantaloupe, blueberries, pears, apples, bananas, prunes, peaches……and I’m still probably missing a few! I really can’t think of one thing I’ve offered that she didn’t like!

Blaine’s been working non-stop (literally!) and hasn’t had a day off in over 3 weeks! However, watermelon season ends TODAY and I just work a 1/2 day tomorrow and then we are off to the beach for some cooler weather and a fun 4th of July weekend in Laguna! We are definitely needing a little vacation!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Summer is Here!

Once again, I have a lot to report since the last post! Summer is officially here and we have had a lot going on here to jump start it! Two weekends ago, we headed off to Laguna for our fourth annual Mud Run! We got to see Aunt Lizzie, as she was down visiting my parents for her big Birthday celebration. We also got to spend a little time at the beach, which is always a treat! This year my brother was an awesome sport and joined us for the Mud Run. We all had a grueling and amazing run and Papa scored another medal this year, coming in 2nd place in his age division! Go Team Goon!!

Colbie meets” Grandi Sandi” and Aunt Lizzie for the first time! Grayson has a ball with his new blow up toy (Sandi) playing “sneaky mouse!

Fabulous at Fifty!!

After returning from Laguna, our Burgess friends were in town for a few days, so we got to spend a couple nights with them catching up and letting the kids run around. We also took a day trip to Sea World last Thursday with Becca, Molly and the Burgess clan. This was Grayson’s first trip to Sea World, and what better way than to spend with his buddies, Landon & Molly. And of course, the “Bri-tri’s” had a ball catching up and getting to spend time together.

The Bri-tri’s with their kiddos. Molly was passed out by this point!

Grayson and Landon showing off their blue tongues after a lollipop treat!

Buddies!

Checking out the polar bears.

Just a few cute photos of Colbie I wanted to include.

Colbie also had her six month check up last week and is a little over 16 lbs. and 27 inches. She is a healthy, happy baby and starting to enjoy a variety of new foods. I really haven’t found one food that she doesn’t care for yet!

The boys!

We got Blaine an early Father’s Day present last weekend and purchased some bikes for us and a child carrier for Grayson (which will eventually be for Colbie once Grayson starts riding his own bike). Grayson loves it (he especially loves his super cool helmet!). Here’s a picture of the two below.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Teeth, foods, worms and more!

Colbie already got her first two teeth a couple weeks back! It’s funny how quickly you forget all of the stages that babies go through. I remember now (of course because we are going through it again!) how fun the teething stage is…… waking throughout the night, horrible diaper rash, drooling, fussiness…..whoo hoo! Luckily for us, Colbie really is a great baby and is still pretty happy-go-lucky despite experiencing all of these symptoms. We’ve also started giving her some rice cereal now and although she’s just a few days shy of 6 months, we’ve also started some solid foods.

It is amazing how completely different Colbie and Grayson are on so many aspects, including eating. I know you shouldn’t compare your kids, but it is so hard not to. From four months on, Grayson was VERY particular about who held him (usually only Mommy or Daddy) and he is still pretty shy and takes a while to warm up to people to this day. I’m sure things could change, but so far, Colbie is pretty easy-going and isn’t too shy when it comes to meeting new people and letting others hold her. Grayson always was (and still is) a pretty difficult eater from day one. He has gotten better with age…..although I really think it’s more of an issue with being stubborn rather than being a picky eater!

I will never forget his face the first time we offered solids (squash). In fact, I will find that picture and include it in this blog because the picture speaks a thousand words!

Here’s Colbie on her first food (squash).

And here’s my stubborn little boy on his first day of foods (also squash)!

Colbie, on the other hand, pretty much loves anything you put in front of her (so far anyhow!). That being said, we got a little happy with the foods since she was taking them so well (giving her almost an entire jar at each sitting). As a result, the poor thing got pretty plugged up to the point where I took her to the Dr. last Thursday to make sure she was ok. Actually there is more to the story…… and I apologize in advance if I am being to graphic for anyone! Not only was she completely constipated and also had severe diaper rash (I am assuming from the teething), but after several painful-to-watch episodes of her straining and pushing, I went to change her and was shocked to find a foreign object that was still attached! Over the next 24 hours, this “worm-like” string kept getting longer and longer every time I changed her, but it still remained attached. I had a million thoughts going through my head like she’s crapped out a parasite or part of her intestines or something, so I decided I had better take her to the Doctor. Now to give myself credit, even the Doctor was a bit taken aback and afraid to touch the worm-like '”thing” attached to her butt and had asked me if I thought it was alive! But after careful examination, she made the diagnosis that my baby had simply swallowed a string! Neither of us knew how long this string was or if it was attached to anything else, so she advised not to tug on it and that it would simply pass on its own. She also asked me if I had any other small children in the house who may have fed this to her!!! Hmmmm……very possible! Needless to say, Colbie finally passed the string and after giving her a little juice and cutting back some on the solids, she is becoming more regular and feeling much better now!

A few pictures to share from the past couple weeks.

Miss Colbie!

The other night in the tub, Grayson was having a melt down and I just had to laugh (because sometimes that’s all you can do!) and took a picture! We are having more and more of these lately! He can be such a shy loving sweetheart one minute, a kid on crack the next, and then a total drama mama, limbs flying in the air, screaming his head off little brat the next! Sorry Grayson…..but it is true!

Daddy’s little girl!

Mommy’s sweetheart!

Blaine’s sister, Jessica and her long-time boyfriend, Joel finally got married this month! We had them over a couple weekends ago to celebrate and the cousins had a ball hanging out and playing with Grayson’s new tractor.

Grayson stepped in one of Chase’s presents and is proudly showing it here. I went over to help him rinse it off and he said, “No Mommy, I just step it off in the grass…..I got it!” A little poop never hurt anyone!

Hope everyone is having a happy Memorial Day weekend! Blaine actually managed to get two days in a row off, which was nice for a change, but he is back at it tomorrow. We helped my parents with a garage sale yesterday and sort of just relaxed and did a few things around the house the rest of the time.

Although I have tomorrow off, I picked up a Thursday, so still a normal three day week for me and then we are off to Laguna this coming weekend for our Fourth Annual Mud Run! Hoorah!!!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Mother’s Day!

It’s hard to believe that this is actually my fourth Mother’s Day since I was able to celebrate Mother’s Day in 2008 as a “Mommy-to-be” when I was pregnant with Grayson! And thanks to Blaine and my two amazing munchkins, I had an awesome Mother’s Day today. Very low key, which is exactly what I wanted. We made the rounds yesterday to both Grandmas, both Great Grandmas and sister-in-law to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. That way, today we were able to stay home and hang out as a family. Colbie actually gave me the best night’s sleep last night (only waking once at 3:30 and going right back to sleep 20 minutes later). Both Grayson and Colbie didn’t wake up till 7 this morning! Whoo hoo! Blaine surprised me with some flowers and a Starbucks, and we were able to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet for a full hour before they woke up! After going for a run this morning, we spent most of the day out by the pool and also took a trip to the park to feed the ducks. We miraculously got both kids to nap at the SAME TIME today for a whopping 2 HOURS, which was a huge treat! And instead of getting into my usual “turbo” cleaning house mode, I completely relaxed on the couch and did NOTHING this time! So thank you Blaine, Grayson and Miss Colbie for the best Mother’s Day yet! You guys are my world and I am one lucky Mama!

So on to the pictures! Here are several pictures from the past week.

It’s been a windy last couple of months here in Yuma, so last Sunday we took advantage of this and flew a kite!

Found her toes!

Learning how to use a sippy cup! She’s sort of attacking it in this picture!

Finally set up Jonny Jumper for Colbie……. I mean for Grayson!! Such a goofball!

“Hey there brother…..check out those ears!”

Time to go swimming! These were from today.

Hope all the other Mommy’s out there had an awesome Mother’s Day! To my Mom, I love you so much and thank you for everything you do! It is so true that you have an entirely new and bigger appreciation for your own mom once you become one yourself. And I absolutely do! So this is for you Mom!

Mirror mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all!

4 Years and 2 Kids Later!

We had a lot to celebrate this past week! We kicked off the week by throwing my mom a surprise party Wednesday night to celebrate her completing all of her cancer treatments. Whoo Hoo! We are so proud of you mom and so happy that you can put this all behind you now! You are a real champ and amazed all of us with your strength and positive attitude!

We got her pretty good, despite our several slip ups! I think Becca’s was the best! We still don’t know whether I told her wrong or if she was just having a preggo/mommy moment, but Becca was convinced it was Tuesday, not Wednesday, and showed up at my mom’s house the night before, ready to party! My mom (of course) answered the door and despite the extreme awkwardness and eye signals between her and Kim, Becca was able to shimmy her way out of that one, making my mom believe they were just on a walk in the neighborhood (party dresses on!) and just wanted to stop by and say hi! We love you Becca! This is SO something I would do! So even after all that, we still completely surprised her and had a great night toasting to her success!

The sparkling cider was a huge hit for Grayson and Molly! They kept smacking their lips and couldn’t get enough of the yummy drink. Here they are making a toast!

T

The next day was Blaine’s & my 4th anniversary. It’s hard to believe it’s already been four years, and yet, with two kiddos, a psycho dog and a whole lot of life and craziness in between, it sure feels like it’s been a lot longer! My parents came to our house Friday evening so that Blaine and I could have a real date night. We did some wine tasting at the Wine Cellar, then met Wendy and Gordon for dinner at Julieanna’s. We then all went out for drinks (yes, way past our bed time!) at the Top of the Kress and enjoyed some live music and dancing….ok, Wendy and I danced while the boys talked farming! It was a very fun and well-needed night!

After hitting up another birthday party on Saturday, we started getting ready for our Easter the following day. We hosted breakfast here Sunday morning for my family and had a little egg hunt for Grayson. We then went to Buddy and Susan’s that afternoon for more eating and another egg hunt.

Dying some eggs the night before.

Grayson loves this hat in the picture above. My brother got it for him and he calls it his “coyote hat!” He got a kick out of putting his pirate hat on Colbie the other day!

“Arrgh!”

Blaine’s Uncle Leonard was down from Phoenix for the last couple of days, so we had him over last night for a nice visit, where he got to meet Colbie for the first time.

I guess that’s it for now. Colbie continues to grow and amaze us everyday. She has been squealing a lot lately and I swear she’s going to be crawling soon! She already scoots herself around pretty well and rolls all over the place! I’ve been meaning to get the Jolly Jumper out, as she’s at an age where I think she’d really enjoy that. God, it’s just going by so fast already

Headed to Jump Up today with Becca and Molly Mac! Hope everyone has a Happy Friday tomorrow and a great weekend!