3 months

Happy 3 months to this adorable little mess!  :)  he has really figured out how to hold things and move them where he wants them....in his mouth (or in that general direction)  :) 

welcome Fall, and hello 13 weeks!

Colton is 13 weeks old today and we have officially stepped into Fall....thank goodness!!  The temps have dropped drastically the past couple days, leaves are turning and falling, and the fair is in town.  It doesn't get much more Fall than that, folks!  :)  I AM LOVING IT!  This week the boys and I have enjoyed having a little more daddy time, despite the circumstances. My favorite is the mornings when we can all be laze for a little while in bed together.  Cooper loves getting up and lying in climbing all over mommy and daddy's bed in the morning, and Colton LOVES watching his every move....this kid adores his big brother.....and big brother is growing rather fond of him too!  It's so cute to see how Cooper is acting like he REALLY likes Colton now.  If Colton is within his reach he randomly goes up to him and kisses him, tickles his belly, or just gets close to his face and giggles at him.  Colton LOVES it and it sure makes this mama's heart smile!

Yesterday we went to the fair and spent ALL day there!  it was perfect weather and Cooper was SO good considering he went without a nap and we drug him all over the place!  His favorites were the petting zoo (which isn't even a petting zoo anymore!  apparently there is a new NC "no touch" law so there is an extra barrier about 5 feet away from the animals now and you feed them by putting the carrots down a makeshift shoot to the animals....how disappointing!)  Cooper loved watching them stick their heads through and catch the feed as it came down close.  And of course there's the ATV display with 4-wheelers and such that is always a hit with this kid!  :)  He enjoyed getting on the huge 4-wheeler and holding on!  :) And the tractors....another hi-light for Coop! I thought he would really enjoy the pig races but he didn't seem too interested in them....I think there was just too much going on all around him for him to focus on the pig (however, that's my favorite part, we'll work on him again next year!  :)) Colton slept on me in the wrap for most of the day, aside from a few moments of gazing at all the sights and colors.  He also had quite the poopsplosion....good thing I came prepared with extra clothing for him!  He was in the wrap on me and I heard the rumble in his tummy, then felt (and heard) the explosion!  I looked at Carrington and said "uhhh...I think we have a problem!"  I knew it was bound to be a bad situation so I scooped up the diapers and wipes and headed to the baby station certain that I was going to take him off of me and have poop all over me!  luckily it wasn't all over me.....but it WAS all over him.....just shot straight up the back of the diaper!  Good thing he was in the wrap because he got back in it completely (well, with a diaper and socks) naked and we went back to the stroller to get his clothes. lesson learned....make sure to always have weather appropriate back up clothes in the diaper bag! So glad I thought ahead on that one! (and I might add....he's already done the SAME thing today!  I won't be without extra clothes ever!  :)   Overall we had a GREAT day at the fair and Cooper was so well behaved!  unfortunately we didn't get many pictures (and none of Colton).  I really want to try to be intentional about enjoying the moment, in the moment, rather than from behind a camera lens documenting every second.  don't get me wrong, I LOVE my pictures for later, but I don't want to be obsessive about the perfect pictures of every moment and miss out on enjoying the time then and there(thank goodness for camera phones so we do have some pictures!)
ok, how about some of those pictures now....here are a few from last week that I forgot to get off my phone and share:

the Black Walnut Festival (mom and I took the boys while Carrington went to soccer one Saturday morning)

Cooper handed this ring to Colton and he held it for a long time, even putting up to his mouth the chew one, until this happened.....and he wasn't phased by the ring around his nose at all!  :)

Every Wednesday morning is toddler story time at the library.....Carrington and I took Cooper (and Colton) last week and Cooper wanted nothing to do with sitting down for a story...we spent the hour playing outside instead (the library isn't really the place for a screaming toddler melt-down....)

someone really found his hands last week and chews/sucks on them a LOT now!

Fridays are trash day....the hi-light of the morning!  :)

enjoying the "petting zoo"

He has figured out how to pull the blanket (or lovey) up to his mouth and chew on it!

All my boys in one bed!

snoozin with daddy

Daddy and his mini me at the fair (notice that slush puppy had to accompany us!)

burrr it has gotten downright cold in the mornings...had to break out a winter hat! (plus it's just so darned cute, I couldn't wait to put it on him!)

oh that happy boy!  <3

Thanks for stopping by!  "see" you again next week!

12 weeks old!

Hello friends!  I am doing a little bit better this time with posting....it's only been3 weeks since my last post, instead of 7!  I call that progress, folks!  :)

Our little fella is 12 weeks old now and is growing and changing so much!  We have also had a lot going on in our family the last few weeks.  hubby lost his job this week (a job that was stressing him out and was more trouble than it was worth, however....he(we) would have loved for him to have already had something else lined up and leave on his own terms, but such is life)  he is hoping to hear from the fire department soon as to when he might get an interview.  We also celebrated our 4th anniversary this week (4 years!  my how things have changed since that beautiful day in 2009! and we wouldn't have it any other way!)
We also found a house to purchase, fell in love with it, wrote up a contract/agreement for purchase, began the process of financing the house....and then the whole job thing happened and the house is slipping away ;(  Thank goodness for supportive family and the fact that we will never be without a home. And thank goodness this happened BEFORE we were in the house with a mortgage to figure out how to pay.  We are trusting that when the time is right, God will drop another perfect house in our laps and until then we are trying to trust in that and be ok with where things are now.....as difficult and disappointing as it is to lose the house we were already "placing furniture in."  ok enough sad, ho-hum, news....onto fun stuff....PICTURES of the cuties in our life!

Week 10:

Cooper has started taking care of his baby like I take care of Colton....he puts him in the bouncy seat, feeds him, and now diapers him!

Starting to enjoy the bouncy seat more....and gets fixated on the tv at times.....I try to tell him that it will rot his brain!

Cooper has taken a new interest in dressing himself....this particular day he insisted on putting his jammies back on over top of the clothes he was wearing!  (and apparently thought he needed a pig nose too!)

Happy boy at 10 weeks old!

Week 11:

Ready for church!

Daddy was out of town for soccer so Cooper and I went to church together (while Colton stayed with Grandma)

Poppy and Grammie came to visit and Colton loooooved having Poppy talk to him!

Grammie is a good snuggler too!

my little 11 week old rooster!  That hair just kills me....it won't lay down for anything!

Colton also started sleeping pretty much through the night this week!  he goes to sleep around 8 and will typically sleep until somewhere between 4:30 and 6:00 before he eats and goes back to sleep a little longer....I call anything more then 4 hours sleeping through the night!  :)  He is also officially a roller!  he can roll from his tummy to his back but doesn't do it consistently because he actually LIKES being on his tummy!  :)

Week 12:

I dyed some rice to make an activity for cooper this week and he enjoyed it!

We were digging for bugs in the rainbow rice!

And now you see why we did it on a sheet....this was about the 4th time spreading it out everywhere!

Colton tried out the bumbo this week for the first time....he did great, but was done with it after about 7 minutes!  As you can see, he has also discovered the he controls those little hands and that they are great for chewing/sucking on!  guess we need to get used to bibs again because his shirts are getting soaked!  :)

Cooper has been in desperate need of a haircut....but in the meantime it makes for lots of fun at bath time!

I love that you can see his sweet little face in the mirror admiring his crazy 'do!

Daddy and Cooper both got the mommy special haircut this week!  Cooper just got enough to get it out of his eyes (the better to see things with) and ears (the better to hear mommy with!)  I didn't trust myself to do too much more than that!

Colton has had some crazy upper body strength for a long time but has now discovered that propping up on his arms allows him to look all around and see the world from a new perspective, and he loves it!

Checking out that fist and trying to decide whether he can get it all in his mouth or if he should just go for the knuckles!

oh my gosh....I love this sweet little happy face!  12 weeks old!

Thanks for stopping by!  next week the fair is in town, so be sure to check back for pictures of that! (and we are supposed to get internet installed next week so I will be MUCH better about blogging on time again!)

catching up

**true story .....I have re-written this blog a few times thinking "I'll get it posted this week" and then it doesn't happen and I have to update again!  whew!**


Sorry for my absence but, wow!  What a few weeks it has been! Colton is now 9 weeks old.  Let's back up to week 3, where I left off.  That was the last week in our house and we had the internet cut off so I wasn't able to update then.  We have since been living at my mom's and she does not have internet (yet!) either.  I feel like I've been a wee bit disconnected....although, then I realize that I have a baby and a toddler to keep me busy!  :)  Instead of boring you with every detail of the past 7 weeks I think this post will be a picture heavy post and I'll show you what we've been up to!  :)  Here are some hi-lights from the last few weeks

• Colton started intentionally grinning at 3 weeks!  and now he LOVES to be talked to and just grins and grins!  He also tries to talk and coos a lot too!  He loves looking at Mortimer the Moose that hangs over his activity mat and can even be heard laughing at him a bit at times....it's more of a drawing air in type of laugh right now, but is so cute to hear!  :). He also loves looking at big brother!
• we packed up our house and moved out the 3rd week of his life as well.  We are now staying at my mom's house and the house hunt pushes on.  
• Colton had his last appointment at our doctor in Burlington on August 12th for his one month check up.  He weighed a whopping 11 pounds 10 ounces!  Just for comparison's sake....Cooper was only 11 pounds 5 ounces at his 2 MONTH appointment!  He measured 24 inches.
• At his appointment we also discussed Colton's gassy/fussiness.  She "diagnosed" it as colic, but also said "what is colic really, other than their little bellies trying to adjust"  The doctor suggested that we give him over the counter gas drops every time before he eats.  We have been doing that, as well as me not eating any dairy, and he still has his rough days and hours.  Usually after he eats, he is rather uncomfortable for a while until he releases some of that gas.  It's so pitiful and I'm hopeful that at his 2 month appointment, which will be his first at the new doctor here, they will have some suggestions of what else we can try.  I can deal with it until he "outgrows" it, I just hate that I can't make him more comfortable.
• Colton pretty solidly wears 0-3 or 3 month clothes now.  one day last week (at 5.5 weeks) he wore an outfit that Cooper wore for his 16 week picture!  Cooper is in 18-24 month clothes. I promise I won't ALWAYS compare my boys in all aspects, but it is fun to compare how differently they are growing.
• Cooper, in true Cooper fashion, has been going non-stop!  he literally RUNS everywhere he goes!  He has has his second "big" injury as well....In the course of a week he fell down the entire flight of stairs once, half the flight once, and fell up the stairs once.  the falling up the stairs was his only injury...he bit almost through his bottom lip!  it bled everywhere and had teeth marks on the outside and the inside of his lower lip.  but, he's a trooper and was back up and running in no time!  Honestly, we are VERY lucky this kid hasn't had more injuries with the fearless nature he exhibits!
•  We have been able to get back into going to church at Calvary and we are SO happy to be back there regularly!  Cooper has had a bit of a rough time with going to his class but I'm sure he'll get better with it as he gets used to the same room every week and the same little friends to play with.  He has been fine after about 5 minutes of being there, it's just the initial separation.  This week we took him into the service with us for the music and then took him to his class.  He LOVES music and we figured it was a great way to go ahead and get him used to the worship music and the routine that takes place there.  He has done great being in there and is captivated by the musicians.  Colton just stays wrapped on me for the whole service for now.  Until he gets a little older and a little less colicky and fussy, we will just keep him with us...he does much better to be wrapped close to me and just sleeps the whole service.
• Gross story alert....at exactly 6 weeks mommy and Colton had an experience that I NEVER had with Cooper!  :)  He had a particularly rough few days before and wouldn't stand for being put down hardly at all!  my mom or I were pretty consistently holding him non stop!  He was clearly very trouble with tummy pains and it was pitiful.  In the early morning hours Colton awoke for, what I thought, his morning feeding so I got him up and changed his diaper first, as I always do.  As I got his bottom clean and prepared to slip on the new diaper he let out the biggest toot that would have made any adult feel better!  That would have been fine with me if it was accompanied by gas propelled POOP! It shot out everywhere!  all over the changing mat, all over Colton's jammies, all over me, all over the bed (we have him in the pack-n-play next to the bed with the changing table attachment on it), and all over the floor! I quickly said "oh shoot!  Carrington, wake up and help me!"  Needless to say, nothing like waking up to a poop spray and an early morning shower!  But dang if Colton didn't feel better after that one!  Who wouldn't!?!?!
• Cooper has had some rough times adjusting to life with a little brother.  He loves Colton and loves to check in him and see him when he gets up, but he has definitely been crying out for attention in any other way possible!  In the last week we have gotten into screaming fit mode...it's REALLY fun, let me tell ya!  :/  I think we are definitely getting into the terrible two's...yay!  he really tries my patience some days!  He's such a head strong little boy (ahem.....like his father) that he will just look at you sometimes with that "this is what I want to do and this is what I am going to do" look!  He's definitely determined, we just have to figure out how to channel that into appropriate things. :)
• We met our new doctors here in Winston this week for Colton's 2 month appointment on Tuesday.  He weighed a whopping 12 pounds 15 ounces and was 24 1/2 inches long.  The doctor here suggested that we try the zantac for reflux because that could be his discomfort (rather than just gas since the over the counter gas drops don't seem to alleviate much of his discomfort like they should)  We shall see if that helps!

My favorite image from our maternity session:

Some of his newborn photos, taken at 13 days old:

Week 3:

Cooper's first tent in the midst of packing up the house and he loved it!

first sink bath and talking to grandma

Colton's first bottle and Cooper was there to help

a chalkboard fridge is a great way to keep a toddler entertained!

And so are empty cabinets!

3 weeks old!  (and still working on focusing our eyes!  haha)

Week 4:

More cabinet fun!

Mommy snuggles!

Grandma entertaining the boys while mommy and daddy finish the packing and loading

This was Colton's contribution to the packing party!

watching daddy verrrrrrry closely!

Kenley meets Colton for the first time!

last evening in our house

Off to Grandma's house we go!

sweet little sleeping face!

4 weeks old!

week 5:

Adoring big brother

brother kisses!

we spend a lot of time wrapped up like this these days!

a great way to get a busy toddler to finish a meal.....let him stand on a stool at the counter!

5 weeks old!

week 6:

my boys!

<3 Love this baby! <3

Those cheeks!  gah!  I kiss them alllll day long!

Colton loves looking at mortimer the moose hanging above his pack-n-play!

Someone insisted on lying in the pack-n-play like his baby brother to be changed!  notice he is in the baby bassinet and it WAY too big for it, but had to be like the baby!  ;)

As I was sorting through coupons for a super doubles event at Harris Teeter, and holding Colton at the same time, I looked down and this is what I saw!  :)  He just loves to grin at mommy and it intensifies when I talk to him!

His shirt says "too cute for words" and I think that about sums it up!

on the way to mommy's 6 week check up the car decided to just die! we think it's the fuel pump perhaps.  Mommy and the boys had to wait for daddy to come rescue us.  we got out to take a walk (we were on a neighborhood street) and then it started raining so we waited it out in the car with a little snooze and a snack!  :)

6 weeks old!  notice the mohawk....I swear I DO comb it down after his bath and when it dries it just pops right back up!  he's a naturally born bad boy!

week 7:

7 weeks and full of smiles!

Cooper LOVES to play in the sink so I figured we should just put him to work washing bottles!  :)

just too tired to take that bottle from daddy!

every week Cooper wants to be a part of Colton's weekly pictures and I LOVE getting shots of them together!  He loves his baby brother and they are going to be such great buds!

snuggling with my boys!

sleepy baby!

7 weeks old....little chunky monkey!

week 8:

my little church cuties!

a little family walk around the yard.....the dog included

silly boy playing on his slide

melt my heart!

I love how Cooper is looking at Colton in this picture!  Colton had been sitting in the chair by himself and Cooper began to climb up with him, which made Colton just grin so big!

tell me that's not just the sweetest little face!

cleaning the bird bath just like grandma does!  this kid does not miss ANYTHING!

pondering life and he fell asleep!

finally enjoying the swing!

8 weeks old!

week 9:

Someone found his tongue this week and was very proud!

a little water break on the front porch

Uncle Chris brought us some eggs from his chickens and one of them had a little surprise!

Cooper's new thing is to climb into his seat at the table and just wait for me to come find him there....and he buckles himself in so he's kind of stuck until I come unbuckle him.

we love bath time and talking to mommy

mommy loves looking at that sweet face!

see!  the hair IS combed down temporarily!

One morning I had cereal for breakfast and shared a few bites with Cooper.  I left the box, closed up, on the counter (I know, I should have known better!) and was tending to Colton (who had a particularly rough morning of spitting up!)  As I was cleaning up Colton I heard Cooper's step stool scoot across the kitchen floor followed by the crackle of the cereal box/bag.  Then the dreaded sound of cereal everywhere!  When I was able to get Colton in a safe place to go see what happened, this is what I found!  He was frantically shoving the bag back into the box as if saying "what? I didn't do anything!!"  He had tried to fill my bowl back up and was asking for milk!  So we cleaned up the mess, I poured some milk in the bowl and he stood there and ate it!  :)  This kid is always into something and doesn't miss A THING!

he loves his little play corner at grandma's

I asked him to smile and this is what I got!

Look at hoe Cooper has his feet pulled up and is looking lovingly at Colton!  *sigh*  I love my boys!

we went to have lunch with daddy and Cooper got a piggy back ride back to the car!  He loved it!

Elmo captivates audiences of all ages!

Cooper has learned how to squeeze the water sprayer and loves to try to get daddy!

Colton's 2 month appointment....the nurse said he was chunky!  :)

waiting for the doctor!

Colton has started putting his hand behind his head when nursing and when he falls asleep JUST like Cooper used to do!  This picture was at 2 months and 1 day and I have one of Cooper doing the SAME thing at 2 months 1 day!

Those 2 month shots sure make a little fella sleepy!

9 weeks old....and there's that tongue again!  :)

WHEW!  that was A LOT!  thanks for sticking with me!  I'll try to update again before 7 weeks pass!