A few weeks ago we decided to take Colin to the local swimming pool. He has loved his swimming class and we thought he would enjoy this pool just as much. As you can see in the picture they have a kids mini water park too. And that was the problem. We didnt think that in Colin's swim class there were only babies who were held and maybe splashed a little bit here and there. Plus the water was heated and it was generally calm and quiet with music playing in the background. Flash forward to the public pool where its noisy and kids are running and splashing everywhere. Plus this kids area has all these sprinkler type things where water is going everywhere. A little scary for our little boy.

We met some friends at the pool who have a 10 month old and their baby was swimming around and loved it. Colin clung to us for dear life in the beginning and eventually warmed up to it. Until we put him down the slide and since then we can't get him to take a bath. We made progress a few nights ago when he sat down in the bath for a few minutes. Hopefully our next trip to the pool will be less scary and he'll enjoy it.

Ball

Besides saying mama, dada, and dog Colin has learned a new word - BALL. We were walking in the store the other day and passed the bin with all the bouncy balls and he pointed and clearly said ball. He was so proud of himself I had to buy him one and he told everyone in the store that it was a "ball." He LOVES balls and likes to pick one up out of the bin outside, take a few steps and throw it off the deck. Then he goes back and gets another ball and continues until all the balls are in the yard. Its funny because some of the balls are as big as he is! Today he was making unusual noises in his crib as he was suppossedly taking a nap and when I peaked in on him he was straining to get a little ball that was on his bookshelf. He kept repeating ball as he tried to make his arm longer. Apparently the grunting was suppossed to make him able to reach it. I couldn't resist and went in and gave him the ball. He is now napping with one of his balls.

Growing up

Yes, its true. Kids grow up. I mean, we all have right? Well, maybe physically, but we all love the days when we were kids. Abigail and I are loving the fact that we get to act like kids again. Lets see..... we've taught Colin how to give "rasberries," we have built forts with him, we play hide and seek, and we took him to the pool for the first time! The water was too cold for him, but it didn't stop us from giving it a try.

The funniest part was that we went to buy him new swimmers (they are diapers designed for swimming for those of you who don't know), and later figured out they were pink with Dora all over them! So I have been embarrassed for him, but its a good thing he has swim trunks on over top or we would be getting some funny looks.

Another thing Colin loves to do is "water the plants" with his daddy and use a shovel. We went out and bought him a kids shovel, so he likes to follow his dad outside and help. Problem is, all he likes to do is pick and pull on the plants!

Day in the yard

So the weather has gotten warm, and we've been living most of our days outside. Our deck is by far our favorite part of the house as we eat dinner out there nightly. It always allows Colin to have some time to walk/waddle around in the yard and have some fun learning things. The last couple days he has been learning what a hose is, and how water "sometimes" comes out of it. Little does he know that we control it! At times he tries to drink out of it, and others he tries to water the plants like his dad. Today he was wearing jeans, and as he became annoyed he tried to "wiggle" out of them. Well, as you can see in this picture he succeeded!

the birthday cake

This was Colins chance to eat sugar (real sugar and not the "cookies" mommy pretends to give him) We were so excited to see Colin smear cake all over himself. he was very tired from all the excitement of the day.. His aunts and uncle were home and we not only played at the playground all afternoon but there were DOGS! (colins favorite) Angela and James brought their dog AJ while Angela's mom Debbie brought her dog Lizzie. All that excitement made it hard at first to get into the whole cake eating but Colin figured it out and loved it.

Colin is 1 year old!

So Colin is now a year old. We can hardly believe it, but it just gets better every day. He makes us laugh more than ever now as his personality is really coming out. He is such a little helper and likes to give things to us to carry for him. He also likes to pass us the telephone to tell us we have a "call" to answer!

He has been crawling for months now, and is just about ready to walk on his own. He walks pretty well and takes about as many steps as we can convince him to take. Most of the time he walks us around grabbing our hands and taking us somewhere. It ends with us picking him up and taking him where WE want him to go!

Here he is at the playground on his birthday stylin with his "birthday mohawk!" His aunts came down the stairs with big smiles on their faces followed by Colin not having a clue. I think it will toughen him up a bit, you know, make kids think twice about messing with him! The mohawk lasted only a day, but I think his self confidence has remained high.

uh - oh

Catch me if you can

happy easter

Our little model

America's next "top model" is here. All we have to do is work on his smile for the camera. Here is Colin posing on a brand new red camero with titanium blue rims. He has been rated one of the "top upcoming" child models for the 2007 class.

The "Enforcer"

Colin likes to do what most boys do. Play in the dirt and TEAR things apart. Here is a picture of him ripping up one of daddy's plants. Of course I become the "enforcer" as Abigail loves to let him do his thing and play around and get dirty. The other day she had one of her girls over, and I was setting up the grill. I look over, and there is Colin sitting on the ground with his hand in this green pot you see digging in the dirt. Abigail just laughs as her and Kaitlin just watch him pick up handfuls of dirt and put it back in the pot. As i'm talking to them they take their eyes off of Colin for ONE second, and next thing I know he's got DIRT all over his face, and in his mouth!!!!!! Abigail finally got him to spit it out, but she kept laughing. I know Colin might have thought it was an oreo dessert or something, but by the look on his face, I'm pretty sure it didn't taste like it. The poor thing tried to get the dirt out of his mouth with his dirty hand and couldnt understand why more dirt kept getting in his mouth. He hasn't tried to eat dirt since. I know Colin will get into many things we don't want him to, but with it getting warmer outside, it seems that number of things is rising! And he is fast! It only took a second for him to stop playing in the dirt and PULL on my plant.

Becoming a daddy's boy

He's not quite a year old year (turns 11 months old in 2 days), but Colin is starting to become a "little man." I was gone for about 8 days on a trip to Chicago and it was the LONGEST 8 days away from my family I have ever experienced. Okay, it was only the second time I have been away from Abigail for a week in our marriage, but first being away from Colin for more than one day. The trip was absolutely amazing and eye opening, but as the days wore on, I found myself looking at the three pictures I had of Colin quite often. I have so much respect for people in the military who are forced to leave their family for prolonged periods of time. I don't know how they do it.

So when I finally saw Colin, I think I must have squeezed the snot out of him. I have heard kids sometimes forget their parents early on (well, dads anyways!) when they are not around for a while, but I think Colin knew right away dad was back! Being a dad is the most amazing thing ever. Abigail and I joke about have 5+ kids because we enjoy it so much. Reality probablly won't allow that though... and the fact that we need sleep one of these days!

Nap time at our house

Today I think Colin learned the art of getting out of a nap... or at least attempting to get out of a nap. Around nap time I took him into his room, sat in the rocking chair and started singing him some songs (which we do every time) He started to get sleepy and likes to put his hand in my face as he is drifting off to sleep. Well this time he managed to stick his hand in my mouth as I'm singing and apparently it tickled. He started to giggle which made me laugh (big mistake) and thus the nap time was pushed aside as Colin, now wide eyed and ready to play, wanted to be tickled again and tried to stick his hand in my mouth over and over. I stopped singing to him and just tried to rock him to calm him down and hopefully make him sleepy again. Our little boy is smart and tried to pry my mouth open with his finger. When that didn't work he eventually stopped and started rubbing his eyes. Nap time take 2.... this time he decided to stick his pacifier in MY mouth and actually got it in the first time - which was just as funny as his hand being tickled - maybe even funnier to him. At this point I just stick him in his crib for a few minutes hoping he'll tire himself out. I left to take a load of laundry to the basement and as I'm coming up the stairs I hear our ceiling light shaking that is directly under his room. Colin is now standing up and jumping up and down in his crib and shaking it so hard I'm afraid he'll hurt himself. He thought it was extremely fun and much better than a nap. As I'm getting him down for the 4th or 5th time (I've lost track by now) he all of a sudden starts clapping. FOR THE FIRST TIME! And how do you not praise something you've been trying to teach him for a while. I praise him and then start our nap time routine all over again but Colin is so proud of himself he keeps clapping - with a huge grin on his face. And he is really cute doing it - it was all I could do not to smile at him. He eventually fell asleep after and hour and a half and is now sleeping peacefully and will hopefully do it for a long time. I need a nap after all that. Lets hope this is a one time event and doesn't happen tomorrow during nap times.

Let's Go Swimming

We have been taking a baby swim class through the university and Colin is quite the swimmer. Well... he really just loves to chew on the balls but he LOVES the pool. Now when we go he likes to stand at the glass fence surrounding the pool and excitedly slap his hand on the glass until its time for us to get in the pool. His mommy is hoping he becomes a good swimmer! He must drink a gallon of pool water each week (by choice-he lunges his mouth towards the water so he can drink it) and doesnt like getting his head wet. We have yet to put his face under water. He likes it when Brent goes under the water and blows bubbles. We learn sign language each week but Colin is more interested in getting in the water. Last time we learned the sign for wait but I don't think Colin will attempt to learn that one any time soon. He loves the froggy float toy and likes to lounge back and relax when we put him in it, at the same time tries to monopolize all the balls and collect them all as we pass them. His motto is if one tastes good the rest must be even better! He goes more for the green balls than any other and loves this big green beach ball - its a challenge for him because he can't get his arms around it and it always gets away from him. That doesn't stop him from trying. Its been great to get to know other parents and kids Colins age. And you never get too old to play in the pool! I think we get more excited about going than Colin.

Driving along in my automobile...

One day last fall I went running, passed a yard sale and came home with this amazing find - a jeep for Colin! It has been in our basement all winter and Colin recently discovered it when he was helping me do laundry a few weeks ago. He really just wanted to chew on the car but last week the weather finally got warm and we brought it up on our deck and Colin rode around in it. He wasn't too sure about it and just wanted to get out, crawl around and put berries in his mouth. He's a fast one and I caught him slipping them in his mouth just in time. The walker toy (we're not really sure what its called) that's in the background is Colins favorite thing. He crawls over to it, stands up and walks with it back and forth. He has learned to redirect it and go all over the place - and can even dodge people and toys! He is so proud of himself and every time wears a huge smile on his face. We're so proud of our little boy!

one last snowfall!

Yesterday we got 8 inches of snow - hopefully the last we will see this year. Colin didnt make this snowman but his parents sure had fun making it. Colin wasn't sure what to make of the snowman and after a few minutes outside he did a faceplant into the snow and wanted to go back inside.

Weekend at the farm

We spent a weekend at the farm a few weeks ago to celebrate my birthday. Its funny how with our students I feel old but with the other moms in our playgroup I feel so young - I wonder if you ever really feel your age... But we had a great weekend at the farm with lots of family. Colin loved the warm weather and being outside everyday. Unfortunately its been so cold here that he hasn't been able to play outside since. (there are 8 inches of snow on the ground right now - spring please come soon)

I wanna be just like Daddy!

Colin loves being where we are and doing whatever we are doing. Here he is "getting ready" with Daddy one morning. It might not look like it but he is getting more hair. Its really cute because a few strands will stick up... good thing Daddy fixed that in this picture!

Back in Action!

Yes, it has been almost a month now since our last post. Our computer had a hard drive crash, so we were relying on Best Buy and their SLOW service. Of course a ton has happend since our last post as Colin is now 10 months old. Pulling himself up has been the norm, but lately he's been moving around tables, and moving on walls. This one picture shows one of his favorite things to do. Get into the fridge and pull himself up. As he goes up, all the food goes down! He pulls everything and anything he gets his hands on. Not many casualties, but a galloon of milk did pop open! It was rescued after loosing half of its container.

Another thing he has enjoyed doing is giving high and low fives! He is a team player let me tell you. We love how much he smiles and laughs with us. He also has his little basketball hoop mastered. Of course I am super proud as a father. I joke with people that he is dunking already. Okay, so its only about two feet tall, but he's developing quickly. haha

our little handyman

This past weekend I got out the measuring tape to measure as I tried to rearrange our furniture once again to make things more childproof. Brent picked up the measuring tape and started showing it to Colin who thought it was a game - see how fast you can grab the end before it winds back up. Who needs toys when Daddy's tools are this much fun!

Colin the Rhino!

We have had tons of fun with Colin lately. His personality comes out more every day. One of our favorite things that he has started doing is his "Rhino" impersonation! As most of you know, his crawling speed is at "maximum velocity" so we chase him around the house all the time on our knees (makes it a little more fun as we would probablly catch him pretty quick otherwise!). Lately, as we chase after him, he turns around and starts crawling the opposite direction giggling the whole way. Well, as he's moving as fast as he can, he tends to lower his head occasionally trying to use it as a battling ram or something. I guess you have to see it for yourselves, but to us it is absolutely hilarious. We think he thinks that if he lowers his head, it will help him pick up speed or something! ha

He also now has "almost" 5 teeth! As you see in this picture, he definitely has four, but his fifth one is coming in on the bottom. I was amazed Abigail got this shot, but he's showing off the few pearly whites that he does have! What a stinkin cutie.

babbling boy

Colin has turned into quite the talker. He now says dada sometimes when he sees Brent. (of course mama is also his favorite word) He has perfected what we call his "pteradactyl scream." Whenever he gets really excited his does his little yell over and over while flapping his arms. Its very entertaining. Today he did it to everyone we passed while grocery shopping. He also says other unidentifiable words that we wish we could understand because they are repeated several times a day.

They say only parents can understand what their kids are saying, well we don't fall into that category yet! It's only a matter of time! ha

a winter wonderland

Old man winter has finally hit Morgantown. I think it is still snowing as I write this. We woke up Sunday to go to church and had a couple inches of snow on the ground and being from Virginia where everything shuts down with a dusting, we decided to stay home. Everyone else we knew drove to church. I guess we'll have to learn to drive in the snow. Later that afternoon we took Colin outside. The poor boy had at least 4 layers of clothes on and could barely move. (remember the kid in A Christmas Story whose arms just sayed up- that was Colin) He wasn't sure about all the snow and plopped right down in it at first but his favorite thing was to eat the snow. I'm sure its just a matter of time before he learns to love it!


Another great(scary)scene from A Christmas story is when that one boy gets his tongue stuck on the pole! OUCH!!!!! That will NEVER be Colin. HA

Go Back to Sleep!

So here is a short story but a sweet one. The other night I was heading to bed from putting Colin back to sleep (yes, a theme that doesn't seem to be going away). I slowly get back in bed when Abigail rolls over on her back. She says in a low voice, "Colin is spitting all over me!" I then sit up a little bit awaiting another great one-liner from a sleep deprived mom. "Wipe his mouth, WIPE HIS MOUTH!" I begin to laugh under my breath wondering how to respond. Now minutes after responding to her, I just lay there trying to think of what I "should" have said to her. Basically I said what any good natured husband would say. "Okay sweetie, now go back to bed." But what I "could" have said would have been something like, "oh my gosh there's spit EVERYWHERE! Babe, get out of bed, we're all soaking wet. What are we going to do!" haha

But alas, I was not thinking when I replied to her, and the funny story ends there when it could have been even better.

My new friends

I caught this picture the other day as Colin was discussing something very important to his new friends Bambi and Dumbo. (which Bambi is a very sad movie for children to watch. I think we may have to hold off on that movie until he's 18!) But I wish we knew what he was telling them. He now has long conversations with us which usually consists of grunts, squeals and mama and dadadadad mixed in between. His new thing is to go mummmm when he eats.... only when he likes the food. If he doesnt he will whine and complain really loud to show he doesn't like the food. Meal times can be very entertaining at our house now.

Colins other favorite!

We didnt forget Colin's other favorite aunt... Here he is with Aunt Angela and AJ... he's a little blury since he always gets really excited when he see's dogs. Colin keeps asking for Aunt Angela and Uncle Opie to come visit Morgantown, and to bring that dog of theirs!

Sista-s and Colin

This is just such a sweet little pic. I know, i'm becoming a sentimental in my old.. uh ummm young age, but isn't this a great pic of Colin surrounded by him mom and 2 favorite aunties!!!!!!!

growing up so fast!

Now that Colin has mastered crawling, he is working on standing and loves to pull up on things. Our favorite is when he crawls to you and pulls up on your leg! Of course usually its to be picked up and with a face as cute as his its hard not to.

Tonight he was standing and holding onto my shoulders when he let go as if to balance himself...only he promptly fell down. (good thing diapers add lots of padding) His friend Mackenzie was learning to balance herself and walk this week and we think he's trying to catch up to her. We're not sure we're ready for him to walk but its fun to see him try to figure it out. Crawling is old news to him now - he wants to move onto bigger and better things, which usually ends in falling down!

Colins first christmas

It's been a while since we've made a post. The holiday season does that to a family. Even though things get busy, we hope everyone was able to be thankful for the blessings that they have, and to remember the birth of Christ and how he entered into this world as a baby in a manger.


Here we are at Abigail's parents house celebrating Colin's first Christmas. As you can see in the later pictures, Colin was loving the fact that there was a tree full of presents JUST FOR HIM! It didn't matter who's name was on the box, he just figured he'd open them all.





It was very fun having a 7 month old for Christmas. Colin LOVED our tree as well as his grandparents tree, and kept crawling over to it trying to eat it. He learned to use the presents to catapult himself up to reach the ornaments he wasn't allowed to touch (aparently all the shiny ornaments are breakable). He also learned to open presents that his aunt Sarah wrapped (Sarah doesn't put tape on the boxes) And I didnt teach him to do it - contrary to popular belief within the family. He had a great time crawling up the stairs at his grandparents house and met his first dog, AJ. He was very interested in figuring out what a dog is, but when he snuck up on AJ while sleeping, he promtly got bit! It didn't stop him from chasing after the poor dog all week. They are going to be great friends though, that is, if the dog has any hair left after putting up with Colin grabbing at him all the time.

Here he is next to a Christmas tree that we have no problem pulling on, down, or throwing across the room. As a matter of fact, he even chews on it. No pine needles to worry about, so that is just fine! Don't worry Angela, it will remain in great condition for years to come!