Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!


Colten is tucked nicely in bed after a fun-filled Halloween. In fact, he was so excited for the big day that he had us up from 2:30 am - 5am and then again at 6 am to start the day with a yummy breakfast while sporting his pj's from the Belschner's (the glow in the dark eyes are too cool!) and his bib from the Melnik's. Thanks for helping us keep Colten festive all day!



After a half hour nap mid-morning, Aunt Carol came by for a visit, bringing more holiday treats, and then it was lunch and costume time!!! I have to admit that I was dreading putting Colten in his costume because he hates his winter coat so I assumed that a full suit would yield an even worse reaction. When we put on Colten's coat, he acts like he is paralyzed, except for his mouth because he sure does scream : > But to my surprise, Colten loved his costume; I even joked that maybe I'll forgo the coat and start using the monster costume through the winter : >

After a few photo ops with Mom and Dad, we headed to Grandpa and Grandma's house for a little trick-0r-treating (and of course more pics!). Colten loved all of his treats, especially the laughing pumpkin.

Before Colten got too fussy, we headed over to visit with Aunt Tunny. Colten always loves sitting on Aunt Tunny's lap : >

And finally we made our way back home after a short stop at Krissy and Victor's so Colten could finally meet his new best friend Kayleigh. Without even knowing it, Colten and Kayleigh ended up having matching onesies for Halloween so of course we had to take pictures! Aren't they so cute? : >

We ended the day by watching Daddy pass out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters. Colten was fascinated by all of the kids and their costumes. And I promised him that next year we would join the fun!

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Friday, October 23, 2009

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking...

It has been so long since my last post that I can't even remember all that has happened. So here are a few highlights.

Colten eating his first real banana - Now whenever he sees a banana, he gets so excited : >


Colten trying a sippy cup with a bit of juice - He wasn't a fan, of the juice at least. He enjoyed biting on the cup, but he kept spitting out the juice. I guess he is not a fan of the sweetness of fruits. If only there was pea juice...


Colten learned how to climb the stairs a day after his 7 month birthday!

More quick updates: My diabetes is still out of control, so I'm off to see an endocrinologist in early November. I'm still hoping that I can figure out some way to control the disease without meds, but only time will tell...

And the biggest news of all, one of my best friends, Krissy, just had her baby girl, Kayleigh, earlier today!!! We are headed up to meet her and to congratulate the Cruz's tomorrow, and I can't wait!!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

A Long Overdue Get-Together!


This weekend Colten finally met Steph, Artie, Avery and Spencer! The Belschner clan made a stop in Campbell on their way back to Fort Wayne, and we couldn't have been happier to have them!! The visit went by so quickly, but we loved every second of it; in fact, unless I'm mistaken, I don't think that we had seen each other in almost a year - since Amy's wedding. Wow - that was too long...But we made up for lost time and the kids had so much fun together. Of course the only thing that would have made it perfect would have been if Beth and Dave were in town too. But don't worry Beth, Steph and I were already trying to coordinate our trip to South Carolina this summer...Ready or not, here we come : >
We spent the day just hanging out at home, chatting, and watching the kids play. Avery is so beautiful and such a talker too : > We even got to see Avery bust a move to one of her favorite singers on the Disney Channel! And Spencer, what can I say about Spencer? He is so precious and such a great baby; we are so happy that we were able to finally meet him! I don't think that I heard him cry one time all weekend. And I loved getting a chance to feed him too. When he looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes, my heart smiled. And I have no doubt that he will be rolling over any day now; he is so determined.
Of course, we also watched the ND game; Tom and Artie wouldn't miss it for anything. Luckily dinner timed out just right and we were able to eat during half-time. My parents came over (and actually brought dinner - yummy kabobs, salad, cheesy potatoes - thanks so much; it was delicious!) and we all ate and celebrated Avery's 2nd birthday a bit early with an ice cream cake from the DQ (Beth, we totally thought of you!) Dinner sure was entertaining too. Colten "talked" the whole time, Spencer played in his bouncy chair and "talked" to his bunny, and we even got to witness on of Avery's tantrums. I was beginning to think Steph was exaggerating because we had never seen an unpleasant side of Avery, but after being woken up from her nap, Avery was not a happy girl. As my mom and dad said, she really has a set of lungs on her : > Steph and Artie both do an amazing job with Avery and Spencer though. And in a few years, I'm sure that I will be calling on Steph for advice when Colten throws a fit. So I hope you have it figured out by then, Steph; I'm counting on you : >
I have to admit that I was a bit worried about how the night would go, but everything turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I knew that Avery and Spencer are good sleepers, but Colten is another story and I was really worried that his crying would wake up Avery and Spencer. But my little boy made me so proud. He fell asleep so easily despite the cheering for ND and he slept until 5:30 am. But it doesn't end there. He played in his crib for about an hour, turning the camera so that I could no longer see him, and then he went back to sleep until after 7am! I love Colten so much!
With everyone well rested and fed, the kids played a bit more and we snapped pictures incessantly until the Belschner's pulled out just after 9am...At least we somewhat have a plan for our next get-together. Onward to South Carolina!

By the way Steph, I'll get the pictures to you; just give me a little time; I'm lucky I got my blog updated today : >

Avery blowing out her candles

Colten and Spencer - checking each other out

The Boys!

A group photo - finally everyone is looking!

Colten seems interested in Avery's sippy cup; maybe it's time we try one too!

I love this photo of Spencer!


Playtime!