1st Haircut!

Colton got his first haircut on Saturday, November 13th! While it was a little sad to get rid of his baby locks, it looks sooo much better! While the"party-in-the-back style" may still be popular in some areas of SWVA, it was not doing my baby justice.

Here is a video of his 1st haircut. As you can see, he wasn't too happy about the whole process!

5 1/2 minutes in the life of Punkin!

Since my last blog so much as happened but a few highlights include - Colton turned 1 and we had a big birthday bash! He weighed 20 lbs (20th percentile) and was 30 inches (55th percentile). He finally got his top two teeth! He can really jabber a lot of new words besides just dada and baba and some of his favorites include: light, wheel, truck, tractor, car, dog, and horse. We moved! Chad and I celebrated 5 years of marriage! Life is crazy busy as always!

Here is some video of Colton's birthday cake eating experience - he wasn't too impressed to say the least. We had a minor meltdown trying to get him in the highchair and the only cake he actually ate I fed him.



Here is a random 5 1/2 minute video I shot today for those who don't get to see Colton on a day to day basis. He grows, changes, amazes and challenges me daily. It is somewhat boring video but if you haven't seen him in a while it could be entertaining.



And at 1 year, 3 weeks and 3 days our little Punkin still isn't walking but he can cruise around a table, couch, or hang onto cabinets and get anywhere by foot fast. Today I brought up a walker toy from the basement that he really hasn't shown any interest in using and he actually took off -here is some video that I thought was pretty comical:

I'm gonna getchu!

I've had very little time for blogging this summer but thought this video was too cute not to share. Colton is into everything these days and hates being told "no" but gets a kick out of being chased. Enjoy! Hope to get back to my blogging soon...stay tuned!

Mother's Day!

Although I celebrated Mother's Day last year while pregnant with Colton, this year was my true first Mother's Day and I loved every minute of it. Being a mother is a life changing experience that no one can fully prepare you for. It is amazing, it is challenging, it is a test of patience, it is an indescribable love!

Yesterday I reflected back on the past 7 months of motherhood and I thought back to the 1st night in the hospital with Colton. He cried the entire night. The only time he didn't cry was when he was held upright on mine or Chad's chest and since neither of us had slept in 24 hours it was exhausting. It made me feel almost helpless but I knew I would do anything for my baby. For heaven's sake, I couldn't even fathom sending him to the nursery so I could sleep and heal from my C-section. Night 2 had to be better but it wasn't! As soon as the evening came and Chad and I were ready for bed, Colton was ready to scream and cry. I remember thinking before he was born that a mother's touch would be natural and that I would naturally be able to soothe my baby. But, boy was I wrong! He cried and cried which lead to me crying and Chad having a hysterical wife and baby. Why couldn't I console the baby that had been in my stomach for 9 months??? I felt so helpless and almost like a failure. Seven months later I realize that I had to learn that mother's touch and today I'm 100% confident that when Colton looks in my eyes that he loves me like no other. He is turning into quite the momma's boy and those nights in the hospital seem like a distant memory.

Mother's day is also a reminder of the amazing woman in my life who loved me more than I will ever know. She has been gone now 11 years and I miss her everyday. What I wouldn't give for her to meet Colton. But I know through her I learned how to be an amazing mom and I know she would be proud of me. My mom taught me that as a mother you never think twice or blink an eye about making a sacrifice for your child and no matter what the sacrifice you get pleasure doing it. That's your job and that's what makes you happy!

I also reflect on the person I was pre-mommyhood. I always had close to perfectly highlighted hair, it was washed & blow-dried daily, my nails were always manicured, my house was close to perfectly organized, my car stayed clean, I kept this blog up to date, I was able to multi-task and get almost anything done and while I do an okay job now the old me would be appalled with my sloppiness and imperfections! Nowadays if it doesn't get done and the time was spent playing with Colton or rocking him for a nap or taking him for a walk, I'm okay with that. He is growing so fast and soon enough he will be in school and I will have time to do all those things that used to be so important to me. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some super moms out there that manage it all and I applaud them and want to be them. But I realize there are many times I just need to "let it go" and I try not to let my strive for perfection get in the way of seizing the moment as a mom!

Lastly, I want to give credit to my husband for helping me to be a great mother. I'm pretty sure that without him I would struggle.

I hope all the mommies and mommies-to-be had a beautiful Mother's day! xoxo

And here is a link to the pics I uploaded on FB this morning: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2501366&id=6230200&l=13548103c2

Just like his Momma!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I despise all things bananas - I don't like the taste, the smell, texture or anything with banana flavoring. In fact, smelling them from a distance sort of makes me gag. This morning I sucked up my despise of them and mashed one up for Colton. And let's just say he may be just like his Momma! Peas (his least favorite veggie) got a better reaction the first time. It was too funny not to capture on video. This video isn't nearly as funny as the 1st reaction to the taste. We will keep trying them though. He will tolerate peas now although I think his initial reaction to bananas was far worse! I don't blame him either!

Happy Easter!!

The weekend was an eventful one to say the least. It started on Friday with a 6 month baby well visit for Colton. Colton is now 16 lbs 12 oz (30th percentile) and 26.25 inches (50th percentile) and doing great. Unfortunately the doctor suspects a rash that he has had and that has gradually gotten worse over the past month isn't actually dry skin or baby eczema (my diagnosis) but that he is allergic to Dreft detergent. The doctor put him on a steroid ointment and I spent the weekend re-washing EVERYTHING he owns and we are thankful it is 100% better! I just feel terrible that I didn't figure it out earlier. Poor thing is a little guinea pig for these 1st time parents!

We had a great Easter! We went to church as we do every Sunday and smoked a ham for our Easter dinner. Chad and I enjoyed dying eggs and playing Easter bunny. I don't think our eggs will win any awards for beauty or creativity but it was fun nonetheless.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter as well! Here is a link to some pics I uploaded on Facebook today: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2489429&id=6230200&l=facceec317

New videos!

Here are a couple of new videos of Colton. The first is from last Friday when Roberta & Charles came out for the weekend to visit. Charles wanted to try the paper tearing trick. The second is yesterday when Chad came home from work and took his belt off and told Colton he was going to "tan his hide." The video footage on the second one isn't that great because I was holding Colton on my hip but you get the point. Enjoy!

Also, some new pics that I posted on Facebook this week:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2485215&id=6230200&l=3928eb5acf