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)

37 Weeks!

We're leaving bright and early for a week back in MN/WI.  I absolutely love Minneapolis in the fall and can't wait to see family and friends once again.  I know it seems like we were just there but Kolton is at such a fun age right now and I need to share him with people I love.  Last time we were home he learned to sit.  Maybe he'll hit another milestone during this visit!

Only leaning; but he can do that for a while.

I'm sure he'll miss his slumber buddy, as will I =)

Foreign Land

As I'm sure most of you know I don't really cook.  I sweat at the word Broil because I honestly have no idea what that means.  I think it's just an oven setting but, don't you need a special pan or something?  Anyway, given that fact I inexplicably love grocery stores!  I found a really great brand new Kroger's the other day and I could have spent hours just perusing the isles.  It's like a foreign land where everything is shiny, new, and interesting.  Of course I don't speak the language so I wonder aimlessly and eventually feel anxious by my own inadequacy.  This one even had an entire merchandise section.  I stare longingly at pots, pans, and utensils all of which I have no idea how to use but still find fascinating.  I just love grocery stores.  Especially nice, fancy ones like this....you'll find me purchasing pre-made meals in the deli section=)

36 Weeks!

I've been slacking on taking Kolton's weekly photos.  He was born on a Wednesday so ideally I would take the picture every Wednesday.  But its been more like Friday, or this week it was Saturday.  His latest development is more babbles than ever.  He now says "Da, da, da" which of course Mike loves.

We had a wonderful weekend.  Our friends Megan & Marshall were in town for a wedding and stayed with us.  Our first house guests!  Friday night Megan and I went out for a girls dinner with some of her friends while the guys stayed home with the boys (Harrison is 1).  I'm pretty sure we were running out of the house!  Dinner was awesome. We ate at a very cool non-chain restaurant in the Fan.  Had we taken more time in finding a place we probably should have looked in this neighborhood.  It still strikes me as funny how much Mike and I both love living the city life style given we both grew up in the country!  I definitely enjoyed getting out...that's two weeks in a row! Wow!

On Saturday we tailgated at Megan & Marshall's Alma Mater; Randolph-Macon with Megan's family.  Yes, I dressed Kolton like a little frat boy.  Thanks for the white hat Megan=) He was so cute! What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  We got some great photos of the BFF's playing as well.

 The key to any sport is to always keep your eye on the ball.

Sucka!