On the move!

The grandparents are coming the grandparents are coming!!!  By the end of this week my grandparents from Georgia will be hear and will be staying for two weeks!  This will be the third time I have seen them in my almost 7 months.  I am very excited to see them and do a ton of things with them.  Matthew will have kindergarten so I will have them both to myself.  I believe people call that "spoiled".  YUP!!!!

So my top teeth are in fully in which means I am WAY more comfortable with everything and chewing is fun!  I love to bit on and into everything that I can get my hands on.  One of my favorite things to do when eating (besides blowing bubbles and the food I am eating everywhere!) is to bit into the spoon.  My dad doesn't think our little game of tug of war is all that funny, but my mom is smitten by anything I do so that is my green light to continue!  With my teeth fully in I am getting back to sleeping 9 - 10 hours at night.  I also think it has to do with my parents letting me play for those 1 - 2 minute breaks I take in the night.  Since they don't come in anymore, I figure it is back to bed.  Oh well.

So did I ever mention that YAYA is awesome!  My Yaya, not Matthew's, mine.  She takes the absolute best care of me during the day.  We play in the mornings, take walks in the afternoon, and she knows just the right time for me to nap.  This week I only have 2 days of Yaya... which I am sad about, but then again my grandparents are coming!  Only 2 days of Yaya in October and 2 in November.  What a bummer.  Why you ask?  The old man is taking time off of work to stay home with me in October, November and December.  Let me ask you who you would rather have change and feed you... a sweet and gentle Yaya or the rough and unpolished Steve Daniels.  Exactly!

I am officially on the move!  My parents call it scooting, but I call it crawling.  I am mobile so you better watch your stuff.  This guy absolutely has no idea about consequences or falling objects or pulling things off shelves or even what NOT to put in my mouth, but either way I am going to learn!  My parents were obviously caught off guard and weren't ready for me to be so quick to move around or they would have prepped the rooms for me.  I am finding all sorts of things!  Did you know that DVD's can fall down?  Or that a tiny gum wrapper under the couch is the perfect choking hazard?  Or that my fingers are just the right size to fit into the heat register?  Yup, in just one week I have learned about all the trouble I can and WILL get into!  This is going to be great!

So my other grandmother, Butter, has been hanging out with us a lot lately!  I love it when she is over.  We always seem to have more fun when she is around.  When she is around we do things like visit Oktoberfest festivals or go hiking to see waterfalls or just sit in seats on the driveway and watch people go by.  She takes really good care of me and has a knack for knowing when to take me out of my mother's hands just when I need that break!  She is special!!! 

Well that is about it.  Matthew had his big birthday party last week.  A bowling party.  Did I get to join in?  No!  Did I get any presents?  No.  But I did get attention from everyone at the party, so I will take that anytime!  On Friday I will be 7 months!  7 whole months!  This is just going by too fast... and if I am thinking that just imagine what the parentals are thinking?

With Love,
Colin

3rd Tooth to a 4th!

Everyone here in the house was really getting used to calm nights and sleepy mornings from yours truly, but NOT THIS WEEK.  Nope.  My two front teeth are coming in and it is painful.  Not the type of pain that you keep in so no one else knows, but rather the type of pain that everyone has to know about at all hours of the night and experience with you.  Whether it is 3AM or 3PM I am not sleeping and crabby!  Super crabby.

One of my front teeth has already broken through so that makes three total teeth and the fourth is swelling and just about there.  Everyone is hoping these teeth hurry up including me.  Sucking on frozen teethers, taking medicine, and having the others constantly feel my already sore gums isn't my idea of fun.  It isn't like I like this either!

Outside of that drama some pretty cool things are happening.  I am starting to scoot and crawl.  I can lay on my stomach and push myself backwards pretty well, and today I noticed that if I hold onto the blanket and get up on my knees I can move forward!  I am starting to become mobile and go get that toy in front of me.  Very exciting!!  This new found (very much not mastered) freedom does come with a cost... my mom is in freak out mode over small toys and things being left around.  I am pretty sure Matthew and my dad have heard enough about it, but who am I to say anything?

My six month appointment was last week and everything has come back great!  I am now in the 130% for head circumference.  The 'ol noggin is just a shade over Matthew's when he was six months, which is of course confirmed proof that a bigger head means I have a bigger brain... and a bigger brain means I am smarter!  YES!!!!

The rest of the appointment was just fine and turned out ok as well.  I received 4 shots and learned that I am 21 pounds and 2 feet and 4 1/2 inches.  The doctor said I am a healthy growing boy!  Phew, I was nervous about that.

So there was a bit of sad but exciting news this last week.  A good friend of ours has taken a job that will move him all the way to Michigan.  Pete will be missed terribly by all of us, especially me.  Everyone has gotten to know the guy and I was just getting used to having him around.  But I figure that is ok, because he is a good friend he will be in touch, his new position allows him to send nice presents to me, and I have never been to Michigan and now have a great reason!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and here is to getting some rest!

With Love,
Colin


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Oops, a bit late!!!

So sorry I haven't been updating everyone, but things around here have been busy!  But I have lots to say and lots to update you about!

Basically: I am six months old (1/2 year!!!), I have two teeth now and one more on the way, I am turning over back to front and front to back without any problems, and I am eating everything in site!

As you can see from the pictures my teeth are arriving and they serve me more than just chewing food.  I can bite fingers!  My parents think it is cute to stick their grubby fingers in my mouth and they pay a price for that!  But primarily my teeth do chew food and oh boy do I love food!  Bananas, applesauce, peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and PEARS!  Pears are my absolute favorite!

I am starting to become more mobile these days and am now considered a "flight" risk.  By flight I am not talking so much about running away or moving into the next room, but rather falling off of high places and "flying" onto the ground.  I am not allowed to be by myself anymore when I am in the highchair, changing table, or even the couch.  Rolling over is quite easy and I am not afraid to do it anywhere I happen to be...

Matthew and I are becoming closer these days and we both are quite big fans of each other!  He loves to help me and take care of me any chance he gets.  His big thing right now is to feed me either breakfast or dinner.  Effective yes, not so efficient!  There is no shortage of mess and a high demand for bibs when he is around!  My face is fully covered in whatever the meal happens to be, but it is not because he is clumsy or I am refusing the food... but rather we both just laugh at each other.  I don't know what that kid is laughing at, but when he starts that just gets me going, which gets him going even more.  Before you know it I haven't eaten anything, I am wearing it all, and we have been laughing through the whole meal!

So with all this eating I must be sleeping right?  Yes and No!  I am a great sleeper from 8:30 - 2:30ish but I am a wildcard after that!  So nights I can sleep all the way to 7 or 8, and others I might be awake a 4 looking for a playing buddy!  My father seems to think that I am giving my mom preferential treatment in this department and thinks I sleep when she is on duty.  Maybe it is true, but maybe I just get excited to see my dad in the morning!

Summer is coming to a close here in Oregon, but before it left there were a few 100 degree days in August.  Sleeping in just my diaper wasn't exactly comfortable nor was playing in the heat.  What made it worse was going to the spray park just to watch Matthew run the cool misty water or for two weeks straight watch Matthew learn to swim in a perfectly refreshing pool.  Even though I didn't get to do these relaxing and refreshing things, we did head out to the beach where the temperature dropped 50 degrees!  Seriously, we left 100 degree weather and were greeted with a chilly windy 55 degree evening at the beach.  Even though we were all cold, we made the best of it and enjoyed each other!  Plus we were with Butter who always makes nights like that fun!

With August ending and September beginning, Ingrid is watching me full time!  She comes over to my house and takes great care of me.  She feeds me, changes me, and helps me get comfy for my naps.  In the afternoons she and I go on walks and enjoy some wonderful time together.  I am getting quite use to the kind care she gives, but what is shocking is when my dad gets home and the tornado that follows him in the door!  The house for almost 8 hours is calm and essentially mine, but come 4pm... Matthew is on the loose and my dad (although he means well) doesn't have quite the touch Yaya has!!  I am definitely looking forward to more time with her!  

Well again I am sorry for not writing sooner and I plan to get back on track!

With Love,
Colin  


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