Christmas Reflections

What a whirl wind that was!  And note to self...take more pictures early, and often.  I'm kind of crazed that I didn't get a really good family photo on Kolton's 1st Christmas.  Oh well, I definitely captured the spirit of the holiday, including a Green Bay Packer Win!  All of the guys in my family got Jersey's so this holiday Green and Gold were the colors of choice =)

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It was definitely a new experience opening gifts for both Kolton and myself this year.  Just a lot to keep track of while trying to maintain Kolton's needs that didn't always allow me to totally concentrate and make sure appropriate "Thank Yous" were said to the gift giver. I quickly accepted that timing was never going to be perfect.  Kolton wanted to nap when it was time to eat, then he wanted to eat when it was time to open gifts. I can tell my sister in laws were pros because they had their family's piles opened, cleaned up, and cleared out of the living room while I still had gifts to open.  My area didn't get organized until the next day!

 Christmas Eve at My Mom's (Grandma Barb's) who supposedly cut back this year...missing from the photo are the piles of presents that had to be stacked in another room. 

Hi Santa!

Christmas Day at our Dad's.  It was very surreal to sit with my brother Tony with our children on our laps.

For some reason Kolton likes to wait until we are in Wisconsin to hit some milestones.  You might remember he started sitting while we were here in August.  As of Christmas Eve he will now eat anything and everything AND he also started feeding himself.  I have been trying to introduce regular solid food for weeks and have always been met with resistance.  I guess he just figured the holiday meals were too good to pass up!  He's had chilli, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, pot roast, and cheese just to name a few.  I can't begin to tell you how this new development scares me because now I HAVE TO COOK!!!!!

Overall the holiday really was wonderful.  For me part of the nostalgia is reflecting on past, present, and future Christmases to come.  This year the religious part was definitely passed over and I hope to keep that at the forefront from now on.  Last night I was thinking about the birth of Christ and the emerging toddler I now have. I wonder if the Son of God was a good baby?

 

Santa Claus Traditions

Santa Came! Santa Came! Santa Came

Last night was my first night playing Santa.  We have to leave for the airport in the middle of the night to make our 6am flight tomorrow so Santa had to come to our house a little early.  Even though I didn't really have to be stealthy about it this year I do so anyway just for practice.  Boy am I glad I did!  I learned very quickly that you do not leave the assembly of toys for the night before.  At least anything that requires a hammer anyway.  I also started to think about exactly what Santa Claus traditions I would like to establish.  My parents divorced when I was a very young so I always got 2 Christmas mornings.  My parents played Santa a little differently and it never occurred to me to question it.  For example my mom didn't wrap stocking stuffers while my dad did.  At my Mom's my brother and I opened stockings on our own while at my Dad's we opened stockings after gifts and after breakfast.  Mom left wrapping paper out for Santa to use...so that we wouldn't wonder why gifts from her and him were wrapped in the same paper.  Dad used different paper. I knew a girl in school whose Santa gifts were never wrapped at all.  Do you allow gifts from Santa to come in the original packaging or does Santa make all the toys?  Wow!  I never thought it would be so complicated!!!  Here are a couple of ground rules that I think work best for me.

1.  All gifts from Santa should be wrapped in glittery red and white wrapping paper.
2.  Stockings are filled with unwrapped candy and other trinkets with a wrapped gift or two.
3.  Its OK to leave toys in original packaging but bigger items, like the trike, should be removed from the box and assembled.
4.  Don't forget to eat the milk and cookies and leave crumbs!
5.  Leave a snow globe from Santa.  I thought of this after watching the Polar Express and The Santa Clause the other night.
6.  Sneak in to leave a gift by the bedside if possible.  My mom did this and it was so fun to wake up to!

I'm sure I'll think of more as I go along.  The key is to stay consistent.  The really hard part is that I'm sure we'll have to arrange for Santa to come a little early every year like this.  But again, as a kid, I never questioned my parent's ability to communicate with the big guy.  That's part of the magic in believing!  Merry Christmas everyone!

The scene before I went to bed after midnight.

Love that kid!

Boss

Ever work for someone younger than you?  Kolton had definitely been letting me know whose the boss lately!  If I step out of line he lets me know it, pronto.  I've been pressing my luck taking him shopping later than I should.  He gives me a couple of warning cries which I'm grateful for before deciding to lose it completely.  I try to hold my head high but I feel myself cowering and talking out loud to him more for the benefit for those that might be judging me.  Saying things like "OK, you've made your point, we're heading home now!"  And realistically its only like 7:00 so it really isn't that late.  But like I've mentioned before last year at this time I couldn't walk through a store without stares and comments from strangers about how big I was.  There was a particular incident in Target where Kristin had to act as my body guard keeping the crazies away and stopping them from saying anything else before we high tailed it out of there.  But I think the experience scarred me a little...I know complete strangers will judge me and have no shame letting me know what they are thinking.  However, as I was discussing the story with a Richmond mom yesterday-we were finally able to make a play date!- she mused that perhaps it was a north vs south thing. That people here would never be so rude.  It crazy how moving only 3 hours south of Baltimore means I've really crossed this cultural line!

For some reason I thought this holiday season would be easy peasy and that I'd have no problem getting things done.  But with the boss calling the shots and being sick and losing two weeks I'm still in the rat race.  Oh, Amazon.com how I love thee.  How did moms ever survive without it?

11 Months!

Finally, finally, we are feeling better!  We ended up taking Kolton back to the doctor on Friday after the nurse expressed concern that he was getting worse even after being on antibiotics.  Well turns out he got a viral infection on top of his bacterial cold infection.  And there is nothing that can be done for the virus at his age.  The doc told us that usually there is a 2 day period where the viral thing is really bad then it calms down.  Thankfully that seems to be the case.  I still have to wipe little man's nose through out the day but it pales in comparison to last week.

To celebrate the passing of the sickness and Kolton's 11 monthiversary we saw Santa Claus today.  I was totally freaked because the mall parking lot was packed!  But there was virtually no line to see the man in red and Kolton was on Santa's lap within minutes of arriving.  He didn't cry but he gave his trademark blank stare.  He's definitely a little more on the serious side.  Of course they no longer let you take your own pics so $40 later I have some of my last minute Christmas shopping done...sorry to ruin the surprise Mom!

One other fun thing that happened today was when I heard that Kolton was up from his nap I went in to find him in the sitting position in his crib!  So freakin cute!  He doesn't really change position that easily so it was a really fun sight to see =)  Happy 11 Months Little Buddy!  Mommy loves you very much and I can't wait to spend our first Christmas and New Years together as a family!

I swear he really is a happy kid =)

Still Sick!

I tried to stage a holiday portrait session with little man but this was the only expression I could get!  We are both still sick!!!!   On Monday we went to the doctor and got antibiotics.  Kolton's of course coming in the form of the great pink cure all-Amoxicillian. I couldn't help but sneak a taste....Mmmmmm! Its just been a ridiculously long time for a cold to hang on.  Mine morphed into a sinus infection and the pressure between my eyes nearly drove me insane.  I am feeling much better but Kolton still has a never ending running nose.  Ugh!  We haven't even been to see Santa yet because I don't want him being the snot nosed kid sitting on Santa's knee!

So I hate to admit it but since we've basically been shut ins we've been watching a lot of TV.  I still try to have it off for the greater part of the day while Kolton is awake but (sigh) I'm not always successful.  Anyway, since I've been watching a lot there are a couple of commercials that I have issues with.  Have you seen these?

1)  Foldgers-the one where the brother comes home from Africa or whatever. There is the most awkward exchange I've ever seen between a brother and a sister!  This one has been running for a few years.  Take it off the air!  It's Creepy!!!!!

2) Digiorono Pizza-the hip hop party.  A teenager poses as a pizza delivery guy to gain access to the party.  He rings the door bell...Sophie loses her shit EVERY TIME and starts barking at the door!  I wonder if the ad execs did any research on the effects this commercial would have on dogs????  While it does get my attention I'm boycotting them just because I'm so annoyed!

Just had to get that out there!  Hope everyone is having a happy, healthy, count down to Christmas =)

46 Weeks!

I need my Mommy!  Only now I'm the Mommy and feel kind of helpless.  This cold has been relentless...for both Kolton and I.  It's just been round after round.  I've never experienced anything like this before.  Thankfully its somewhat manageable but we're almost out of toilet paper!  And I'm not kidding about the Charmin.   Seriously, the next time you get a cold get some Charmin.  I've been wiping my nose all day for a week and my skin still feels soft and smooth without any weird lotion tissues.

My poor baby is doing OK.  Thankfully his appetite returned over the weekend but I'm worried because he'll no longer stand.  Is he weak?  Or does he simply just want to crawl all the time now?  In a slight panic I called the on-call pediatrician over the weekend who told me that sometimes during a cold a baby's hip can get sore.  If things aren't remarkably better by the morning I'm going to take Kolton in to be examined.  Then maybe depending on his diagnosis I'll have to go in myself.

What really, really, sucks is I feel like I have to cancel yet another play date we had scheduled for tomorrow.  Ugh!  And just when I felt like I was starting to find some gals to hang out with.  But I just can't imagine exposing anyone to this thing.

Hangin On

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  Kolton and I have bad colds that keep hangin on and just won't let go.  It feels like just when we're about to get better another round starts.  I have some holiday shopping and stuff left to do and it doesn't help that I've lost an entire week.  But hopefully this means we'll be able to make it through the holidays germ free.

Does anyone else find that using a roll of Charmin toilet paper for wiping runny noses works much better than Kleenex?

45 Weeks!

Whoops!  I took this photo a few days ago but didn't have time to post.  With all of the fun we've been having Kolton got a little run down and came down with a cold.  Unfortunately that forced us to miss the birthday party yesterday.  I still find the consequences of having a sickly child kind of funny.  Canceling plans, which I'd hardly ever do in the past, just can't be helped; especially if there are other children involved.  Then there is the inevitability that I will get what ever he's got.  Thankfully he just has a runny nose but otherwise seems to be in good spirits.  But he won't let me anywhere near him with the snot sucker thingy!  However, he is already in bed for the night.  Poor little guy.

This weekend I was able to do a little holiday shopping.  I even went out after putting Kolton to bed last night.  I can't help but think about last year.  I was super duper pregnant and was realizing my limitations for the first time.  Instead of marathon shopping days I was only able to last and hour or so.    I'm almost done but not quite.  I'm always looking for a good bargain that's why it takes me so long!

Oh what fun!

I feel like the holiday season is in full swing and we've been having a lot of fun lately.  The Wilson family is in town visiting from Minneapolis.  John and Mike went to college together, Jen is one of the coolest moms ever, and their two girls are simply adorable.  They actually used to live in Richmond before moving back to MN a few years ago.  So they had a lot of fun insight on our new town.  Oh, how I wished they still lived here!  I think Mike and I would be settling in much better if they had.  We went to the Children's Museum on Tuesday followed by a pizza party back at our place.  Then last night we got a babysitter for all three kids while the adults attended a VCU basketball game.   It was the first time I've ever left Kolton with a non-friend babysitter.  I admit I was slightly nervous about it.  But, I ended up finding an amazing sitter through a referral from the realtor/property manager of the house we are renting.  Megan came with glowing references and completely put me at ease.  She is a full time nanny and babysits on the side as well.  She reported that Kolton is the best baby ever and I can't say that I disagree =)

Tonight its back to VCU for an AOII meeting then tomorrow we are cruising back to Baltimore for the night.  Saturday I have an AOII 25th Anniversary gala to go to celebrating 25 years of the sorority at VCU.  Then Sunday is the 1st birthday party for one of Kolton's Romp and Roll buddies.  Busy, yes, but oh what fun!

44 Weeks!

I almost forgot to take this weeks' picture!  There is Kolton with his most prized posession at this point.  I am being totally honest when I say he is sleeping with it right now.  Of course Mike couldn't be more proud =)  But, OMG, we had such a hard time getting him down tonight that I was actually exhausted when it was all over.  I think I'm entering the temper tantrum danger zone.  Over the past 2 days I've noticed that Kolton will fake cry when he doesn't get his way.  This usually involves Sophie taking her bone and playing elsewhere or the ball rolling too far out of reach.  Tonight was a entirely new level.  Little man did not want to go to bed.  It worries me because I think he's been having some bad dreams lately as he's crying without really being awake.  But then again, after this evenings failed bedtime I got him up and put him in the high chair with a graham cracker while Mike and I ate dinner.  Then he threw up a little but went right back to eating the cracker.   Aaaaahhhhh! If only he could tell me WHAT IS WRONG?!??!?!?

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  I hope you all stuffed yourselves silly.  Special thanks to Kristin for Kolton's adorable holiday outfit.  We were lucky enough to spend the holiday with good friends.  And, in case you haven't heard, Kolton is now a crawler =)  Whoo Hoo!  We've been waiting for this.  He's still army crawling but can move from one room to another.  He doesn't do it willy nilly though.  It's all about the basketball at this point.

The funny thing is it rolls so easily across the floor that just the slightest touch will send it spinning.  So now I really have to get some serious baby proofing done.  We are currently using the loft as Kolton's play area.  I have a gate that I use to block the hall so I can do other things around the house while he plays.  The other day I was on the phone downstairs when I heard giggling.  I looked up and saw this....

I've been using the breathable bumper as a way to enclose the space; thinking arms and legs won't get  stuck through the spindles.  But now that he likes to pull it down and peak through it might be a lost cause.

So my holiday decorating is in full swing!  I know I've mentioned before that I absolutely L-O-V-E Christmas and decorating has always been a family tradition.  It's always interesting decorating a new space for the first time.  I always try to do things a little different every year.  This year I'm using colored lights on the small tree...oh, yes; I put up multiple trees.  Don't worry Kristin I'm using white lights on the big tree, the mantle, and the staircase.  But there is something fun about colored lights and I love the soft glow!  My real worry this year is trying to figure out how Kolton's new crawling status will effect where I can put things.  

Leaves

We've been having some beautiful fall weather here in Richmond.  As much as I miss fall in Minneapolis it also comes early and is short lived.  I've really gotten used to the fact that I can go outside without a coat and even wear flip flops into late November.  But this is the first year I've experienced fall in the suburbs. On my daily walk I usually hear no less than 7 leaf blowers, doesn't anybody use a rake anymore?  Its frankly hilarious to see people in their yards trying to blow all of their leaves into a neat pile.  Then yesterday I witnessed an operation unlike anything I've ever seen.  The house we're renting comes with lawn service.  Well they came yesterday to do the leaves....

I'm standing in front of our garage so this is the side view of the front yard.  I was just coming back from a walk so I missed them in the back.  I assume those are all the leaves from the back yard where most of the trees are.

They suck up the huge pile from the street into that truck you see.

What your left with is this!  Awesome!  All complete in about 1/2 hour.

Of  course today more leaves have fallen.  Whats really funny is as I walk through the neighborhood I see completely clean yards right next to a yard full of leaves.  All it takes is a little wind to really piss someone off!

43 Weeks!

Weekends go by so fast, even for a stay at home Mom.  We had another weekend of just laying low.  I  spent a large part of Saturday curled up in a chair reading The Hunger Games.  I know I'm a little behind on this band wagon but I couldn't put it down...yet another young adult love triangle... bring it on! I'm dying to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 but I'm waiting to see it with Kristin in a couple weeks.  I'm team Jacob in case you were wondering =)  I've read all 4 Twilight books twice; they were that good!!!  I can't say I'd read The Hunger Games again but I can't wait to grab the second book in the trilogy tomorrow.

This week Kolton made a little progress in the crawling department.  He actually army crawled forward a few feet.  Now more than ever he cries when he gets frustrated by not being able to do it.  However he usually just rolls to the spot he wants to be in instead of trying to get up on hands and knees.
We've also had a few frustrating nights which is highly unusual for him.  One night I even ended up giving him a bottle at 3:30 AM!

On a positive note he is taking to solids a bit better.  He'll eat pieces of real banana and today he ate scrambled eggs for the first time.  I may have snuck him a little taste of McDonald's french fries but don't tell my husband that =)

Living Carefree

The past couple few days have been gorgeous.  It's raining today of course.  But Monday was a spectacular sunny day.  We took an extra long walk and I started to think about how carefree my life truly is.  I mean what do I have to be worried about?  Making friends?  That's nothing!  Plus I have wonderful friends who are just a phone call or a short car ride away.  So really I have nothing to worry about!  I'm not trying to brag I'm just saying that sometimes it takes something as simple as a pretty fall day to remind me just how lucky I am.

I don't think I've mentioned too much about my involvement with my college sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII).  I was involved with the alumnae advisory committee in Baltimore at Towson university and now at VCU.  Basically we help oversee that the current chapter doesn't get themselves into too much trouble!  Anyway, I was on campus Sunday night and was hit with a sense of nostalgia.  Talk about living care free!  Aaah, those were the days.  I'd like to think that I still look young enough to pass for a college student.  But the baby in the stroller kind of hinders that!

42 Weeks!

I love that I was able to capture Kolton sticking his tongue out in this weeks' pic.  He's been all about it lately.  So at 42 Weeks we are still waiting for him to crawl.  I will admit that I am getting very anxious about it.  Kids his age are pulling themselves up on things, nearly walking and yet our little guy seems no where near that.  I know, I know, all babies develop at their own pace but this seems kind of crazy.  Whats even crazier still is I've asked countless moms what they did or how their children did it and they all say the same thing "the kid just did it on their own".

I need to interject that as I'm writing this post I'm suffering stay at home mom embarrassment.  The guy is here to winterize the sprinkler system.  I knew he was coming but I didn't get around to changing out of my pj's, brushing my hair, or even getting a bra on!  Granted his work is all outside but I had to answer the door this way.  Ooops!

Part of the reason why I haven't gotten around to taking care of myself yet, besides checking emails and doing this of course =), is that Kolton has already taken a 7oz bottle, ate breakfast (oatmeal & bananas), and pooped twice!  He is a really poopy kid!  Every morning is a little like this.  A lot happens then he'll nap around 10.  Around noon he may be ready for 4oz of formula.  I say may because he doesn't always take it.  By noon its been 5 hours since he's had a bottle and 4 since he's had anything.  It just always surprises me that he still feels full from the morning.

Well I better go pull myself together a little...is going to be a beautiful day here in Richmond and I hope to spend a little bit of it outside while we still can =)

Bliss

Today was bliss.  My bliss is doing nothing all day but playing and snuggling my little guy.  We didn't go to the gym or a mom meet up; I didn't feel the need to clean or get anything else done even though there was tons I could have been doing; we hardly left the house actually.  I loved every minute of it and found myself wishing Kolton didn't have to go to bed at 7:30.

Why is the world we live in so crazy?  Why do we have to be confronted with things like child sex abuse scandals and kidnappings?  Why do kids get serious illnesses?  Why do accidents happen and bad things happen to good people?  Ugh!  Why do we ever leave the house?  Sorry to get all serious and gloom and doom =)  Sometimes I just wonder how anybody ever makes it through unscathed.

I'll admit that at least once a week I still get a little down about having to move.  I miss Baltimore!  I miss Minneapolis!  But, one look into the big brown eyes of my beautiful baby boy and I'm thankful and happy!

Bait

The other day Kolton, Sophie, and I were out for our morning walk when a stray dog came up to us.  It was about the size of a German Shepard.  My first reaction was to yell at the dog but then I'd be the crazy lady yelling in the street.  So against my better judgement I let the stray come up to us.  He followed as I started walking again.  Within minutes I saw a man walking  towards me with an empty collar and leash.  He told me that the stray had been seen in the neighborhood for a while now and recently killed his cat.  The dog had obviously been trained at one point because he was responding to commands to sit but wouldn't sit still long enough for the man to put the collar on him.  The guy even had doggie treats and still couldn't get collar around his neck.  So we continued on and the guy headed home.  Well the stray was obviously very interested in my dear little Sophie.  Then the man asked if I wouldn't mind walking Sophie to his fenced back yard so that we could trap the stray and call animal control.  Basically using Sophie as bait.  It seemed logical enough so I did it. Yes, I am that stupid!!!!!

Once we got to the yard I quickly realized that I was putting myself, my baby, and my fur baby in potential danger.  What the hell was I thinking?!?!  The man had to run around the yard to close the other gate.  So while he did that I anxiously watched as the stray cornered my little girl at my feet.  Um, this dog had just killed a cat and Sophie is not that much bigger than a feline!  I yelled for the man and he came around to help.  Now the dog wasn't showing real signs of aggression but I think that's besides the point.  I breathed a sigh a relief and walked away quickly.  That stay was back at my feet in 10 seconds flat.  He had jumped the fence!!!  So Sophie was used as bait yet again to get close enough to put the collar on.  My heart was pounding all the way home.  What is it about the suburbs that makes me so suspicious of people?  I should have just walked home and called animal control.  But of course I didn't have my cell phone on me.  Don't you just hate it when life finds a way to teach you lesson?  Thankfully nothing bad happened and hopefully the dog was microchipped or something and will be returned to its owners.  But I will carry my cell phone on my walks from now on!

Oyster Festival

OMG, what a fun weekend!  You can't get more pituresuqe than the above photo.  That was the scene at our friend's river house on the Rappahannock.  We hung out around a fire for a while on Friday night before the swirling winds forced us inside.  Saturday was beautiful, sunny and cool yet still warm in the sun.  The Urbana Oyster festival was so much fun.  We basically made it as far as the wine tasting area and parked it for a few hours =)  But we also sampled fried, steamed, and raw oysters as well as a multitude of other fried yumminess.  Kolton was pleasant as usual and took in all of the sights and sounds with curious wonder.  Special thanks to Amy for being the group photographer!  We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and gracious hosts.

I loved those sunglasses which unfortunately Kolton broke later in the day.  Best $10 I ever spent!

Chilaxin in his ride

Due to daylight savings time Kolton went down just after 6pm tonight.  I'm also feeling a little cold coming on.  Tomorrow morning might be very interesting. It wouldn't be unheard of for him to sleep in until around 6:30.  Oh please, please, please!  I may be turning in shortly myself.  It's 7:45!

41 Weeks!

You know how when you're on vacation and the week just seems to fly by?  Honestly thats how I feel almost every week!  Whats crazy is that I don't accomplish much.  Just days filled with hanging out with my little guy making sure all of his basic needs are met.  I love it!  I wonder how much things will change once I have to chase after him?

Of course he repaid me for all of my bragging in the last post by having a couple rough nights this week.  Nothing big but he does this thing where he cries but isn't really awake.  I'm a little confused on how to handle it.  If I pick him up to soothe him he will wake up but rubbing his back doesn't seem to work either.  Is he dreaming or feeling teething pain?  I think the last time he went through a stretch like this he was teething but then I also recently read something about a 10 month sleep regression.  So who knows what I'm in for?  But he slept well last night except for the fact that he got up at 6 this morning.  Daylight savings should be fun =)

We've got another fun filled weekend planned!  Heading to Deltaville, VA to attend an Oyster festival with friends from Baltimore.  So excited!

9 Month Check Up

Kolton had his 9 month check up today.  He did great!  He only cried for a minute after getting his shots and was quite the happy little guy during the entire appointment.  I want to be modest but sometimes I have to be a proud mama bear.  The nurse kept saying "Is he always this good? Seriously, this is not normal!"  

He is 19 pounds and 29 inches.  She did comment that he has more teeth than a typical 9 month old...8 in front and the molars are coming in as well. Speaking of teething; whats the correlation with teething and pooping anyway?  Kolton pood 4 times today!  But I digress...

He did so good at the Dr. that I thought he deserved a new toy.  I couldn't resist the classic ring stack em toy.  I was surprised at the delight he took in playing with it for the first time.  Love that kid!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!  Last week got really really busy.  Kolton and I ended up hanging out with the Innsbrook MOMS twice.  Once in the park; where I discovered that he will eat muffins, and that I have to start looking at preschools soon after he turns one so he can start at 2.5.  WHAT????  My baby in school at 2.5?!?!  Then we attended a Trunk or Treat event.  We met in a parking lot and the little ones got dressed up in their costumes to trick or treat at each car.  The moms that were on top of things had decorations and everything.  I of course was not prepared and just had a bowl of candy sitting in my empty trunk.  So the mom dating is going OK and I now have 5 new Facebook friends =)

The one thing I have to watch myself on is dissing Richmond.  When ever someone asks how I like it I can feel myself making a face.  Then I quickly explain that we are still adjusting to the change in lifestyle from the city to the suburbs; our family lives in Wisconsin; we have a big group of friends in Baltimore, etc etc.  However, I realize I'm talking smack about their town and many people love, love, love it here.  So I think I need to watch it or else I'm going to come off as a big bitch!

But of course we spent the weekend celebrating Halloween with friends in Baltimore.  Friday night I had dinner with the girls & Kolton.  We went to Roy's which is a pretty nice restaurant.  Kolton did wonderfully and sat quietly through the 2 hour meal.  I think the waitress assumed we wanted to eat and run because of him because she seemed to hurry us a little.  But we took our time and even though we had to eat so early (6:00) because it was already dark it still felt like a night out.

The weather was so cold and rainy on Saturday that all of the day's Halloween activities were cancelled.  Oh well, that just meant we had to stay through Sunday!  But we did get to celebrate Marshall's birthday Saturday night.  I've thought so much about how much I miss our friends that one thing thats escaped me is how much Kolton misses them.  It was so great to see the babies interact with each other now that they are all starting to become more aware.  We stayed to watch football and attend the lantern parade on Sunday.  The babies didn't quite make it long enough to actually see the parade.  But Kolton was able to jam to some drumming for a bit.  We ended up coming back late Sunday night. I figured Kolton could just sleep in the car.  He didn't make a peep the whole way home but was wide awake when we walked into the house.  I flew home making it back in just under 2.5 hours!  I swear I wasn't speeding that bad!  But it took me an hour or so to get Kolton to settle back down so I'm still feeling a little sluggish today.

Here are some pics from the great weekend!  Special thanks to Kristin & Alec and Megan & Marshall for letting us crash at their place =)

These two are only 3 weeks apart.  Note:  Annmare is crawling and Kolton is still just chillin.

Ready for some football!  The Packers were on a bye so little K is dressed for the Ravens.

Getting all set to head to Patterson Park for the lantern parade.

Stroller Strides...Wow, am I short or what?!?!

Snack Time!

Amy & Tiger warming up back at the house.  Kolton's new thing lately is sticking out his tongue ;)

I hope everyone has a happy & safe Halloween tonight!  I think we're all a little tuckered out from the weekend we'll just stay in.  And from what I've heard we don't really get trick or treaters.  So you know what time it is?  Time to start planning for Christmas and 1st Birthday Party!

I just re-read this and realized it seemed like Mike wasn't there, which he totally was!

Buffers

Still leaning...not cruising furniture yet!

We had a wonderful weekend!   Outside of that outrageous Badgers loss...Seriously did you watch it?  In case you missed it; we were all tied up and lost on a last second desperation Hail Mary pass. I ended up having to lock myself and Sophie in the bedroom to watch the 2nd half because Sophie was barking frantically as Mike yelled at the TV.  Watching a football game with my husband can be a little intense;)    

So besides that we went out to eat a couple times, got a new area rug for the family room, and got to spend some quality family time.  I know, I know, super boring!  But this was the first full week in a very long time that Mike was home every night and it made a huge difference.  

Personally I'm starting to reach out more socially. I already spend some time helping out with my sorority's alumnae advisory committee for VCU.  But now I've joined a MOMS club that is targeted specifically at stay at home moms in my area.  Meetings and events are held during the day giving us something to do.  For me, making new friends is not that far off from dating.  There are first impressions to worry about and then weeding out those I can really connect with from those that I'll be simply friendly with.  So far, based on first impressions, I think I could really be friends with a few of these girls.  We've already elevated our relationship to Facebook Friends!  But as much as I like to be social I definitely get doused with a big case of social anxiety.  I'm that new kid in the 3rd grade at Elk Mound all over again.  And yes I suffered from this when first meeting all of you great Baltimore girls!  I just worry about saying the wrong thing, saying too much or not enough, and often worrying about it before, during, and after the date, er; meeting; oh you know what I mean!  So tomorrow I'm going to a brunch that the MOMS club is having for us new members.  I've gone to one meeting by myself so tomorrow will be the first time they'll meet Kolton.  Unlike dating the kids will make terrific buffers!  

9 Months!

To my darling baby boy,

You have existed in this world almost as long as you lived in my belly. And look how far you've come!  At 9 months you are just the most hansom little guy.  We get stopped a lot when we are out and about so that people can marvel at your cuteness.  You are still so incredibly happy and content; I must be doing something right!  I'm just not quite sure how to motivate you to crawl.  But that's OK, because you can stay my baby for a little longer.  You're definitely on the verge so I know it won't be long.  I feel so bad because you've been teething like a maniac for months.  You are now up to 8 and have to be cutting more because you are still constantly putting your fingers in your mouth.   But you're definitely tough because I haven't had to give you anything for the pain outside of a few drops of Oragel here or there.  The funny thing is you don't really like to put them to use.  You hate eating anything with texture; puffs, cheerios, yogurt melts...forget about it!  You put up your hands to block the offensive things I try to feed you or immediately spit out those I sneak on your spoon.  Thankfully you still love your baby food so I feel like you're getting your nutrients.  And just last week Grandma Barb got you to eat a graham cracker for the first time.  I'll tell you one thing, those little buggers are sharp!  I've been on the receiving end of a bite or two from you=)

We've been living in Richmond for about 4 months now.  I can't say that we are totally loving it-mostly because we miss our friends and family so much!  But I am so incredibly happy because I get to spend every day with you.  You just light up my life and I have not a care in the world when you smile at me. We spend our days eating, playing, pooping, napping, and watching a little Grey's Anatomy.  I'm making strides at getting into a gym routine and you are perfectly happy to go to the daycare there.  I spend a lot of time thinking about how I'm going to be the kind of mother you deserve.  My greatest hope is that you will grow up knowing how absolutely and completely I love you.  I'm not perfect and a little silly at times.  There are probably a lot of things that I'm not doing right.  I know for sure you'll never love my cooking-that's why you have two wonderful Grandmas and a Papa that are great cooks!  But I promise there is nothing you could ever do to change my love for you.  I will always be there for you and I will constantly strive to be the best Mommy I can be for you.

Love You & Like You,
Mama

ps:  You still sleep like a champ!  Please, please, please make that last =)

Scary

Halloween is coming up fast.  I'm not really a big fan.  I just feel like there is so much pressure to have a fun & creative costume.  Now that I'm a mom I feel the pressure to make sure Kolton has a fun & memorable holiday. Yes, I know he won't exactly remember it but I feel like all of his firsts need to be special because one day he might want to see pictures.  Our new neighborhood in Richmond doesn't have that many kids in it so I'm not exactly sure what we'll be doing.  But I do have a costume for him so he's definitely getting dressed up at one point.

I've never really liked Halloween.  It just represents all things that I, well, am TERRIFIED of...spiders and ghosts for example.  UGH!  That and the fact that my dad used to scare the crap out of me every Halloween.  He and my brother would take me into the scary mask isle at Shopko put on the masks and then change their mannerisms to creep me out.  These trips always ended up with me in tears and them laughing hysterically.  I'm sure this isn't exactly the way it happened but it's how I remember it.  Oh, and I got kicked out of kindergarten because I wasn't mature enough to understand that a principal dressed up in full gorilla costume wasn't an actual gorilla.  Hey, I was 5 and I was scared!!  But since I cried at school I was labeled immature and my mom had to take me out.  Yup, I was one of those kids who got held back. 

I wasn't sure how Kolton would react when I took him to see my Dad's scary Halloween decorations.  He gets really into it and has a pretty loyal trick or treating population.  Kolton seemed unfazed.

There was one monster that had him scared to tears.....................................................................

The Elmo head goes side to side and sings when you push any of the buttons.  When we first set Kolton in front of it he wailed and sobbed these huge crocodile tears.  I felt so bad for him!  But it was later in the evening on Sunday and since then the kid is seriously addicted.  Oh, Elmo you and your wicked ways.

Busy

Since we've arrived in Minnesota Kolton has been a very busy boy!

I think I know what to get him for Christmas.

It's Indian Summer with temps in the 70's and 80's.  Simply gorgeous out!

 Learning to feed himself...not really just cutting more teeth;)

 Visiting Great-Grandma Swoboda

We visited with Anna, my good friend from college and former roommate, and her son.

Kolton (8 months) & Jameson (6 weeks). 

We visited with Julie, a friend since the 3rd grade, and her family.

 Kolton & Rowan are only 4 days apart.   I stole this picture from Julie's husband's blog...thanks Dan!

 Visiting with more college besties, Heather & Jamie, and their kids.

Eva (3) and Nicholas (1 1/2)