Friday, March 19, 2010

O-N-E!


Hooray! Colten turned one on March 14th! And we celebrated all weekend starting with a party at our house on Saturday. We had about 25 people there including Uncle Mike and the Moss family who made the trek from Columbus in the rain (at least it wasn't snow!). Colten is so blessed to have so many people who love him.Since Colten is somewhat tentative around lots of people and/or people he doesn't see that often, I was a little concerned about how he'd do, but once he warmed up, he was ready to party! He even enjoyed his cake. He didn't go crazy and smash it all over but once he got a taste of that whipped cream frosting, he kept going back for more : >
Then we were on to presents. Luckily Colten's cousin Braden was there to help. He even sh0wed Colten how he is supposed to open his gifts : > Everyone was way too generous, and Colten is now officially ready for summer. He has lots of new clothes, an indoor and outdoor lawnmowers (which he already loves by the way), a sand and water table, a slide and swing set and so much more. Thank you to everyone who helped to make Colten's day so special!
Since Colten missed his afternoon nap, he was asleep for the night by 5:30 pm and I was ready to crash too : >

Colten woke up on Sunday morning, proud that he had turned one! He wouldn't show anyone that he was one during the party, but on Sunday morning that's all he was doing. I guess he knew that he wasn't really one on Saturday ; >

Later that afternoon, we headed to JCP for his year pictures. Colten did an amazing job and even gave us some smiles this time; here are some of our favorites.
Then that evening we headed to Colten's (and Mommy's) new favorite restaurant - Los Gallos - with Grandma and Grandpa too. As you can probably tell, it's a Mexican restaurant so Colten can be loud and he blends right in with the music ; >

Since Colten is now one, we are starting to switch him over to whole milk. He still has breast milk twice a day and now has whole milk once. Here's a photo of his first taste of it. He seems to really enjoy it as you can tell by his milk chin! (not a milk mustache as we are accustomed to ; > )
We just had Colten's year doctor's appointment the other day too. He did such a great job but it was traumatizing for all of us. Six shots and blood work! And of course the needle came out of his vein when they were taking his blood so now we have to go to Akron Children's Hospital so they can try. I'm not sure I can watch that again; he was crying so hard that he wasn't even breathing anymore. Thank God that my mom came with us. Colten and I both needed her support : > In other news though, Colten weighs 24 lbs. 5 1/2 oz (75th %) and measures 31 3/4 inches (97th %)!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Colts! Mommy and Daddy love you!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Updates Before Colten's Big Day


We are busy preparing for Colten's Birthday Bash, but I thought I would share a few of our moments from the past few weeks.

After getting a great coupon in the mail from Sears we thought we would take Colten there before his birthday for a few photos too (even though we are headed to JCP on his birthday). Here are a couple of our favorites.


I love this superhero sleeper!

Colten loves this ornament of Pepper (my dog growing up). He carries it everywhere : >



Last weekend Tom and I took Colten to Easter Bunny Lane at Kraynaks and Colten LOVED it! We missed the display at Christmas because the line was literally wrapped around the building. I'm glad we went early this time; we were able to take our time and get plenty of pictures. Plus I think Colten enjoyed it even more now than he would have at Christmas since he is older.


He was pointing at the characters and "talking" the whole way through.


He loved this green gummy in the Candyland portion : >

Colten is eating his first real pear in this picture and is loving it. However I could use some advice on food. We have introduced lots of "real" foods like eggs, cheeses, yogurt, lunch meats, etc. but Colten only seems to want them as snacks and not as full meals. I'm afraid that he won't get the nutrients that he needs if we leave baby food completely. Any ideas for other foods we can try? Or any advice if you faced similar issues with your children? Do I just have to quit baby food cold turkey to get him to eat regular food more? I'm not even sure what a real breakfast, lunch or dinner should look like? Any sample menu ideas?


Uncle Mike surprised us with the best gift - a personalized Easter basket from Pottery Barn! Thanks Uncle Mike!! You are amazing and Colten is so lucky to have you as an uncle and godfather. Of course I was a little more excited for the gift than Colten this year, but he will grow to love it. I can't wait to take him to church this year for the blessing of the baskets. Now he is truly ready for this tradition!


And for our big news....

Colten is officially walking!!!! As most everyone knows, he has been taking a few steps since early January, but I wouldn't count those as his first steps; I wanted him to sustain it for a while longer. And he did on February 26th! Grandma was the first to see it, but he has been showing off his skills ever since! Way to go little man!