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!