One Small Step for Mankind, One Giant Leap for Colton!!!

A pensive moment at "Bunny Camp"
Taking the cushions off the couch is Colton's idea of DisneyWorld right now. He loves to climb!
Telling Bunny and Meme something important!
When did you get so tall?

Mom, I really think you should come home, now!
Looking out the window at Bunny's!
Sweet lil' feet!
Standing all by himself from a sitting position!
Pushing Meme in the swing...

Yes, folks... he is walking! Well, "taking steps" is more accurate! Last week, Jack and I went on vacation to Puerto Rico and left Colton with my mom. She had him for 6 days in what we called "Bunny Camp"! He had a great time. Jack and I had a great time, too...at least until Wednesday. By Wednesday, I was really missing my boy and ready to be home! Don't get me wrong, it was a fabulous trip, but it was just so hard to be away from my little man that long! I had left strict instructions with my mom NOT to practice or encourage walking :) I just didn't want to miss those first steps. Right before we left, he had started letting go of the furniture and standing on his own. Then at Bunny's house, he went from a sitting to standing position all by himself. And today, 3 days after we got back from our trip, he took a few steps. I am so thankful that he waited :) It started out that he would let go of the couch and then kind of fling himself at me, then it became 1 step and by the time Jack got home this evening, it was full fledged 3-4 steps at a time all by himself. He's so independent that he didn't want our help. He wanted to start from a sitting position, then stand, then walk to us. The videos are pretty short and he wouldn't let go of the mesh bag for some reason but you get the idea! So fun!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Daddy and Colton - just minutes after his arrival!
Daddy and Colton sharing smiles! Daddy can always get the best smiles out of Colton...especially right when he gets home from work!
Fun at the park with Daddy!
Daddy and Colton after church. Jack is an amazing father to our little boy! He is tender, patient and lots of fun! I love watching them play together! Colton is so blessed to have you for his Dad!

Here are few special quotes I've overheard Jack say to Colton:

"Don't eat those ants. They'll bite your tummy." (Such wisdom!)

From the very beginning, Jack would try to reason with Colton. The first time I heard him say this was when Colton was just a few weeks old and crying his little heart out. Jack said, "We will never fail you." That just melted my heart.

Another time Colton was crying... Jack looks at him square in the eye and says..."I don't know what the matter is. Tell me what's the matter."

We love you, Jack!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad and Colton's Papaw! We love spending time with you. Here we are at Colton's first visit to Papaw's pool. We went again a few weeks ago and Colton got to get in with Papaw! He loved it!
Colton loves his Papaw... The one on the right :)
Dad, you are such a wonderful father! Thanks for all you do for Jack, Zach and I. We appreciate you and love you very much! It's been so fun to watch you with Colton! By the way, the grass looks really good! Papaw came and helped us aerate our lawn a few weeks ago! He is always willing to help us with a home project and always goes above and beyond!
Happy Father's Day to my father-in-law, Frazier, too! You are a wonderful father to Jack and we are so thankful for your example of faith and love. Thank you for raising such a great son!
His grandkids think he is pretty special, too!
Happy Father's Day to the fathers in my life! Have a very special day!

Our Big Boy!

This little hand is constantly in the air or pointing at something...It's fun to try and figure out what he wants. Sometimes, he wants the most obscure things. He is very observant!

Pure joy! Something outside the window must have struck him as funny!

Here is Colton playing. When he gets really excited, he will spin around in a circle with his toys.

Sorry it's sideways. Just after I posted about Colton not using his walker, he did it! Here he is "walking" behind his walker at Bunny's house. He's getting so big!

Colton's New Do

Getting ready for his 2nd haircut. We thought it was time for Colton to get his summer do... His hair was really long and getting in his eyes.

Unfortunately, on the day of his haircut, Colton was not feeling well. He was none too happy about this new experience.

All better now that we're finished!

Thanks Bunny for coming along!

10 Months!!!

Finally posting his 10 month pictures on the day he turns 11 months. Oh well... It took forever to get a good picture. We have several outtakes I will post soon. It's getting really hard to "pose" our energetic angel! I also think I'm subconciously rebelling because I can't believe we're getting so close to 1 year. It's hard to see those double digits...

Here are a few things I want to remember about this sweet stage:

• Colton is beginning to understand the things he is not supposed to do. So when we catch him playing with something off limits, he will drop it and run (crawl) as fast as he can.


• When he's done with his bottle he throws it down - there's nothing gentle about it!


• Colton and his learning table. He loves to play with that thing. Lately he's begun walking behind it and pushing it around the house. We have a walker that he plays with and he will do anything but walk behind it. Go figure!


• Colton loves his "Little People" Farm and Zoo. However, he does not want the animals to stay in the barn. Jack and I have fun putting them in the barn and he goes right behind us and takes them all out. He cracks up when the farmer or pig gets thrown out of bed.


• Colton still loves to throw, chase and roll all the little balls around the house. Daddy thinks he's beginning to favor his left hand... We'll see...


• Colton thinks its funny when Mom and Dad cough, sneeze or blow their nose. It was all giggles around here when poor Daddy was sick a few weeks ago. All boy I tell you!


• Colton cracks up and shrieks at the sight/sound of a plastic bag. This makes changing the trash bags way more fun around here.


• He's beginning to understand so much. Yesterday, I said, "Do you want to go swimming?" And he looked outside and got really excited.


• He can play pat-a-cake and loves his books and music.


• He loves to eat baked potatoes, cheese and green beans!


• Diaper changing...wait, I don't want to remember that part. He does not like his diaper or clothes changed one bit!


• Colton is becoming more and more social. He will try to catch your eye and give you a great big smile.


• He has 6 teeth - 2 lower and 4 upper.


• Colton's a great sleeper!!!! Starting around January (6 months) he began sleeping 10-12 hours a night.

Colton's schedule (Someday I'll want to remember this...)

• 6:30-7:00 am - Wake up time
• 7:00 - 8 0z Bottle
• 8:00 - Breakfast - Oatmeal and fruit
• 9:00 - First Nap (anywhere from 45 min. to 2 hours)
• 11:00 - Lunch - (Yogurt/cheese or meat with a fruit and veggie)
• 12:00 - 8 oz Bottle
• 1:00 - 2nd Nap (45 min. to 2 hours)
• 3:00 - 8 oz Bottle
• 4:00 - snack
• 6:00 - Dinner (meat or cereal, veggie and fruit)
• 7:00- 8 oz bottle
• 7:30-8 Bedtime... He falls asleep with a paci, lovey and water sounds.

We love you, buddy and are so thankful that you are our little boy!

3 Years Ago Today...

I married my best friend. It has been a wonderful three years of marriage and I look forward to many, many, many more! It is such a blessing to walk through life with someone who always has your best interests in mind. Jack, you keep my heart happy, my spirit laughing and my soul grounded. Happy anniversary! I love you!

Before and After the Cranial Band

Here are some pictures of our little man in January before the helmet and in May after the helmet. It's amazing what a difference was made in 3 1/2 months. I love the picture on the top right (after). It looks like a baby mug shot :)

I think the bottom row of pictures is the most dramatic. The right side of the back of his head was the most flattened area. You can really see how it rounded out.

The bottom row of pictures in this set show him laying flat on a table looking up. What may be hard to notice is that the right side of his face (if you're facing him) was actually assymetrical (lower) than his left. In the right picture you can see how this was totally corrected. He hasn't seemed to miss his helmet at all and thankfully hasn't had as many head bumps as we feared. When you graduate from wearing the helmet they give you a cast of his head "before" treatment. What's funny is that they attach it to a pipe so it looks like a head on a stick. Colton wasn't quite sure what to think when I showed it too him. It is a little scary :)

Did I do that?

I didn't do it, Mom! So this morning, all before 8 am mind you, Colton had pulled all of the kleenex out of the box, splashed around in the toilet and finished his rampage with a little toilet tissue unwinding... We are in for a fun summer!

Any votes for a 2nd haircut for our little guy?

Swimming in his new Froggy Pool. He loved it!

Picture Post

Colton did not like his chicken and vegetables at first. I tried it, too and can't say I blame him. Jar o' meat = not yummy!

Colton has adjusted really well to not having his helmet! I received some great before and after photos from the clinic. I just need to scan them and will post them soon. We are really pleased with his little round noggin!

Colton has his hand in the air 50% of the time. I guess its his way of pointing and telling us what he wants. It makes me laugh because it always looks like he has a question. He usually wants whatever we have right NOW!

Our new favorite pasttime! And he's not even walking yet... We call him "The Shredder".... Seriously, if you have any important documents that you need to shred...he's your man!