Fruits and a First

The McCutcheon household was pretty uneventful this past week. Just more the the same - very little sleep : > Colten did start fruits last week though. I was so excited to introduce these to him, but to my surprise, he did not share my excitement. We started with pears, but Colten did not like them. He ate most of it but made terrible faces after every bite. I thought that he would love the sweetness, but I guess not. He prefers peas much more! Hopefully I can say the same in a year or so : > By then, he'll probably only want the sweet stuff : > Since starting fruit, Colten has already tried applesauce and bananas too. We had much more success with these, but still nothing compares to his greens!
On Monday, September 21st Colten pulled himself up for the first time all by himself! He had been trying for a few weeks but always needed a bit of assistance...not any more! Here are a few pictures of Colten's latest feat.

Happy Half Birthday Colten!

After about a week without a computer, I realize just how much we need them and don't need them! I missed being able to blog and read everyone's blogs but at the same time, it was nice to not have the computer as a distraction. But don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have my computer up and running again so I can stay connected to everyone : >

While I was computerless, Colten turned 6 months old! And after cancellations and rescheudulings, he finally made it to the doctor on Friday for his checkup and shots. He hasn't grown too much since his last appointment, weighing in at 19 lbs. 6 1/2 oz and measuring 28 1/2 inches. That still puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for length! Since my parents headed to Columbus to visit Mike over the weekend and since Tom was still working, I had to take Colten to his appointment by myself; I usually prefer support for appointments that involve shots. But Colten was such a trooper. Of course he cried but just a bit until I was able to pick him up. He was so brave : >

On Saturday, the fam geared up in our Browns attire and headed for Colten's 6 month pictures. My goal was to get pictures in our Quinn jerseys and then change Colten into his fall sweater vest (thanks Uncle Mike!). After changing Colten into his sweater and getting the barn and pumpkin scene set, Colten had other plans - crying. He would have looked so cute in the barn scene because the colors matched perfectly, but even after walking around the mall and returning, Colten wanted nothing to do with pictures anymore and instead fell asleep on Daddy. We got some great shots with the Brown's gear though so I guess I would have just spent more money had we taken the fall pictures too...(Can you tell I'm just trying to make myself feel better about missing out on that barn scene? It was just soo cute).

Here are some of our favorite photos from the studio. I'll post more from the week once I upload them from my camera and from my moms. Until then, enjoy these!

This is the only barn picture we got!

I love this picture because it was a natural moment that they captured.

"Go Browns!"

Colten wasn't really into smiling that afternoon, but I think that he has his game face on!

More Firsts and More Stress

Colten is soon to be 6 months old already and I can hardly believe it. He changes so much everyday and seems to be hitting firsts all the time. I can't wait for his doctor's appointment on the 15th so I can find out just how much he weighs and how long he is. He has been wearing 12 month clothes for some time now, mostly because of his length. We had some cool nights in the 40's a few weeks ago and I quickly realized that I did not have any sleepers for him; he had been sleeping in onesies since it has been warm. So off to the store I went, purchasing 2 sleepers from Babys R Us and 3 from Children's Place - all 12 months. Luckily I had Colten try them on before washing them because he could not straighten his legs in any of them...Back to the store I went to exchange them for 18 months...My sweet baby boy is growing up too quickly. Here are some pictures highlighting Colten's new pursuits : >

"Forget crawling, I'm ready to stand!"

Colten has really been trying to stand. He especially likes to try and pull himself up on my mom's couches (they are lower than mine so it's easier for him).

"Now I can sit-up unassisted!"

My first ride in a buggy at Target! I'm a big boy now!


My heart melts when Colten reaches out for me like this!

We went to visit Aunt Tunny, Karol and Jerry. Colten loved Aunt Tunny and let her hold him almost the whole time!


We spent Sunday celebrating Labor Day at Aunt Amanda and Uncle Marc's.

Colten attended his first Canfield Fair on Saturday, September 5th. Unfortunately he cried almost the entire time from being overly tired. I had hoped that he would enjoy riding in his stroller and looking at all of the activity and animals, but he just cried, refusing to sleep. So to keep him happy, Tom and I took turns carrying him around the fair and pushing the stroller with our stuff in it. Maybe next year he'll as excited about the fair as we are : >

Colten in his new blow-up duck tub. Since he sits up more now, I wanted him to have something more cushiony around him. He is even starting to splash and play in the water!

Now that I'm done bragging about my son : > I'll move on to some news about me...

I'm still having some difficulty adjusting to being back in school. I don't have a difficult time dropping Colten off in the morning anymore, and I am enjoying being back in the classroom, but I cannot seem to find a balance once I come home at night. After waking up at 4:40am, I don't stop until close to 9pm and I have yet to grade any papers this year. Once those start rolling in, I can only imagine my schedule. I don't want to seem like a complainer, but I honestly do not know how other women balance this and I am so frustrated with myself for not being able to find a comfortable routine. Colten did sleep through the night for the first time on Wednesday night, but that was after two nights of having me up since 3am and 1:30am. Needless to say, I am exhausted...To make matters even worse, my diabetes has been more out of control as well with readings ranging from 114-134. I know that those numbers are not terribly bad, but they are for me and I have been having a really hard time dealing with it. In fact, it feels like I am going through everything all over again. I work so hard at keeping my numbers under control with my diet and I exercise everyday, and I mean everyday no matter how exhausted I am. When I was seeing results, it was somewhat easy to accept my lifestyle, but now not so much. Instead I find myself battling my body once again only this time I am losing...I want more than anything to control this disease on my own, but I am afraid I might not be able to this time and that scares me. Why can't I just live normally, even for a day? Why can't I order a pizza and enjoy it with Tom while we watch a ND or Browns game? Why can't I skip a day of exercising? Why can't I enjoy a piece of bread or a side of pasta? For some reason, God has given me this challenge. For the first time in a while, I wonder if I am up for it...
Through all of this Tom has been my rock and my parents angels on earth. I cannot thank any of them enough for their support and help.


"As with so many things in life, success depends upon building a system, remaining flexible, using a bit of imagination, and keeping your sense of humor intact" - editor of Real Simple