Picture Round Up

So, it's a new year, and I had big plans for writing a Year in Review post and what not, but then life happened and keeps happening, so this will have to do. I know you're all wondering what Colt has been up to. Well, if you haven't been keeping up with him on FB (i.e. you've been living under a rock), wonder no more. He's 18 months and going strong! The following are in no particular order:

Baby boy likes going to the grocery store with Daddy.

Lil boy has had a hard morning of adventuring at the grocery store.

Yes? (this photo is from yesterday, for the record)

Someone got some toothies coming in (this is from today!)

This is a pic I got in response to a mid-morning text I sent to C inquiring about how my boys were. Colt was still in those PJs when I got home. BC that's how we roll.

So, not too many, but enough to tide you over until I have more than five minutes to blog...which will likely be never, considering the state of things currently, and considering the schedule of events for the next two months. In February, we'll be off to San Antonio to see Honey GG! The highlight of that trip will definitely be the fact that I bought Colt his own seat on the plane. Then, in March, we'll head back up to my frigid hometown to celebrate my little brother's wedding, again....they got hitched in January, but the reception is in March...it's complicated, but it means we'll be back in ID before temperatures are back above freezing. Aaaaaand the Spring semester ends in May, so plan on me resurfacing at that point.

Busy Busy Busy: It Never Ends!

First off: This baby boy is only getting more adorable by the day.He's just this beautiful. You'll have to forgive me for gushing. Right this very second he's in his play pit (which was formerly our awesome adult seating area in the living room) playing with his toys and babbling away. He's getting better every day at entertaining himself over there with his toys. He's climbing all over everything. I honestly cannot keep him contained for very long. And, I'm pretty convinced that he's going to skip over crawling and go straight to walking. I mean, he still scoots around on his belly using that right leg to push himself forward, but he no longer seems interested in actually crawling. He is interested in getting to nearest vertical object and pulling himself up. And over, if he can manage it. He's fearless, of course, but it's his parents' fault. We may or may not throw him around all the time because it makes him laugh. Why is baby laughter like crack? His mom and dad will do anything to make him smile.

Anyway. I can't babble. I've got too much to do and not enough time to do it in. The Spring 2012 issue of Ingredients is being published this weekend, and then I take the General Securities Principal (Series 10) licensing exam next Thursday. The majority of my free time (i.e. the brief minutes between the blocks of time I spend sleeping, at work and making faces at my baby) is dedicated to studying for this damn test. So, I'm pretty excited about having it over with, even though it only means that I'll have two weeks to cram for the second part of the license, Options Principal (Series 9), which is scheduled for April 19. I've got about 10 more finals (2-3 hours each) to take before I'll feel anywhere close to comfortable taking the actual Series 10 exam. It sucks, is what I'm saying. It will be worth it, but it totally sucks right this very second.

So, my house is a total disaster, I'm frazzled about the magazine and the exam, and I feel guilty about the time I don't get to spend with my boys. I love them so much, and if it were up to me I'd spend every moment of every day with them :)

January 2012 Photo Update

I'm totally fired from blogging. In my defense, January was crazy and February has been so far too. So, whatever. Here are some pictures!

This is the baby boy at 6 months. Isn't he precious?? I heart him.

These pics were taken while we were in Texas last month, visiting Baby Boy's greatgrandma (Honey GG). Don't you just love his little hat?? It was really awesome being there and meeting the woman that C respects and loves more than any other. And, of course, she loved meeting that baby. I'll post more pictures of that trip sometime soon when I'm at my own computer.

These ones are just a random sampling of pictures taken on my phone in January 2012:

No, it's not consequence that "random" sampling of pics from my phone are all of the Baby Boy. He's really my only subject these days.

Oh, and also of note in January, this bad boy:

It's a Colt Revolver (get it???). There is still some work to be done, and eventually I'll add onto it, but this was as far as Sue and I got during the first session. I may or may not be addicted to ink...

4 months

Holy crap it's almost December. When did that happen?

So, here we are, staring the end of 2011 square in the face, which means I'm also about to have a five month old on my hands. So far, I think it will be fun. He's eating solid food really well nowadays, and he's sleeping really well, and the rest of the time he is just chill as chill can be. He loves to play on his mat and in his bouncy chair. He's turning himself over and starting to scoot around on his belly. Yup, he'll be crawling in no time, I'm sure of it. And then the fun really starts.

Anyway. Here's Baby Boy over the last month:

Laughing at Daddy. That's all this boy does, I swear!

Getting huge. This adorable knight/castle/dragon outfit no longer fits him :( good thing we paid $1 for it at D.I.!

Really starting to fill out that car seat.

Loves from daddy :) He gets them pretty much all day every day.

On his 4 month birthday. The owls just get me. (P.S.: Buy baby clothes at the Thrift Store and D.I., trust me!)

So sleepy.

Hanging out with Cousin. Chris thinks Colt is pretty awesome, and always wants to hold the baby. Chris' mom is having a baby in May, so this is good Big Brother practice for him :)

More smiles :) They're happening all the time now.

Huge eyes! The camera's flash always surprises him.

He's officially outgrown all of the newborn sized stuff. Within the next week he'll be completely out of the 0-3 month sizes too.

I saw this hammer at Albertson's and had to buy it. He digs it.

Baby Boy is spending much more time on his belly these days. He's even started sleeping that way. Yup, mobile in no time.

Here's yet another outfit that has to go :( This one is by far my favorite. I guess I'm going to have to find him bigger, skull-themed pjs.

That face just gets me every time! How is it possible for a baby to be this cute?

He's constantly got his hands in his mouth. The best is when he's sucking is thumb while waiting for a bottle. He wants to complain but he won't let go of the thumb, so it comes out as a muffled whining that just makes C and I laugh and laugh. Bad parenting? Maybe. But it is hilarious!

More loves from Daddy :) This boy is getting SO BIG! I swear he has gained two pounds just within the last two weeks. It's crazy! He is so much fun, though, and he turns his parents into complete clowns. Seriously, he can't see his daddy without smiling and laughing, even when C isn't trying to be funny. I suspect that's because C is making funny noises and faces at him all day. I really could not ask for a better baby, or a more awesome baby daddy. I've got the best boys in the world! <3

3 Months

So, it has been three months since the little guy was born, and I'm now starting to realize that time really does go by quickly. At first it just dragged and dragged, but then the baby started smiling at us and time picked back up! Or perhaps it was the fact that I returned to work? That probably doesn't help. Either way, the Baby Boy is getting huge! So huge, in fact, that his head is outgrowing its hair. Seriously, he's got a bald spot on the right side, and it is not because the hair has fallen out. His head has just stretched and the hair isn't keeping up with it yet. It's pretty funny :)

Anyway, I have proof that he's getting bigger, and it lies in non other than the famous Tuxedo Onesie. This is him and it at the beginning of September:

And here he is in it yesterday, at exactly 3 months:

Yup. Definitely a better fit. In fact, he's practically outgrown all of the 0-3 month onesies that we have, and yet all of the 3-6 month stuff looks huge! I guess that's just how it goes. In 3 more months from now I'll be commenting on how the 6-9 months sizes a look huge too. Well, maybe. Considering how much this boy eats, perhaps it won't even take three more months before he can fit into them.

Besides getting bigger by the day and outgrowing his hair, Baby Boy is getting smarter all the time. He likes to lay on his play mat and grab at the octopus and the little vibrating duck. His Daddy text me this morning to tell me that the little one has figured out how to make the music turn on (it's sensitive to movement, so he just has to pull on any of the hanging accessories hard enough to make it happen). He is smiley and vocal, and he's starting to laugh pretty loudly at us. It's awesome! I'm taking lots of pictures and video, of course. Neither C nor I can get over how freaking cute this baby is, and he only gets cuter and cuter all the time. He is a stubborn little thing, though. He wants what he wants when he wants it, and he wants it yesterday. He's still a cuddly little thing, thankfully, and I may or may not have spent the majority of my three day weekend cuddling him to sleep. And I don't regret it at all :)

Baby Bath Time

I figure it's pretty appropriate to just start this thing off right with a cute picture of the Baby Boy. Of course, they're pretty much all cute, so it's hard to choose one, but I just came across this one on our desktop comp:

Does it need to be said again? Probably not, but I will anyway: my baby boy is the cutest ever!

So, a lot of parents that I speak to are shocked that my 2.5 month old is sleeping through the night. Well, I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but he's been sleeping through the night since he was just about six weeks old. Now, I suppose it is possible that he's just a really good sleeper, but I'm convinced that it is thanks to Baby Bath Time, which happens every night sometime between 8 and 9 p.m. Back when he was little enough, we bathed him in the bathroom sink:

That was sufficient for a little while, but sooner rather than later we had to move him into the baby bath:

And of course from there it was only a matter of time before this happened:

Luckily for C and I, this baby loves his bath. Getting out of the bath, on the other hand....

Well, he is undecided about the hooded towel. Mom loves it, though. And he's adorable in it :)

2 Month Photo Round Up

I know I've said it before, but I will say it again (and again...and again): my baby boy is the cutest baby ever made! I know, that's what all parents think, but let's face it: not all babies are adorable. I daresay most of them are pretty funny looking when they're born, but my baby boy has been the cutest little man since the day he was born. And all the proof I have for that is right here:

Tell me that's not the cutest little face you have ever seen. Go on, I'll wait.....and for no reason at all, here's a picture of his gigantic eyes:

And here's one of him from this week with his daddy:

See, can't deny it can, you? A. Dor. A. Ble! And on top of all that ridiculous cuteness, he's an awesome baby. He sleeps like a champ! And we don't have to worry about the pacifier anymore because he discovered that a forefinger/thumb combination is much easier to get a good grip on and a lot less likely to fall on the floor.

He is a super sweet little guy, but he reminds me more and more of me thanks to the little attitude he is developing:

This is what I get for taking pictures instead of feeding him. I think he looks most like me when he's in this kind of mood. My parents and siblings would probably agree. But aside from the occasional outburst when mom doesn't move fast enough, he's pretty chill. He's getting more vocal and even more smiley, though, whenever I try to take a picture of him being smiley, he stops doing it:

Two seconds earlier he'd been smiling up a storm. I have managed to get him smiling at least once on video. All I can say is that it is so super cute! Seriously, I cannot get enough of this little guy.

So sweet! Plus, he's super cool and a sharp dresser:

Knuckles? Yes.

The Little Guy had his 2 month check up on Sept. 8 (exactly two months! I'm good at this game), and everything is good except for the fact that he has only gained 1/2 lb and 3/4 inch since birth. The doc was not terribly thrilled about that, but he was not overly concerned about it either, so he's having us supplement nursing with formula and rice cereal for the time being. And add this to the No Amount of Warning Can Prepare You For list: Immunizations. Poor little guy has never screamed so loud in his life! It was, quite possibly, harder for me to bear than it was for him, but I know better than he does how necessary the shots are to keep him safe. Now that we're through the first round maybe mom won't cry next time...maybe.

So, Baby Boy should gain at least one whole pound before we go back to the office next Thursday. He is not at all picky about his food, so he eats the formula up like it is nothing, and the increase in food has made him a lot more content. However, having to feed him four ounces at a time every 2 to 3 hours can make it feel like I do nothing but feed him all day long! Now that I'm back at work his daddy is starting to realize just how much work it is to be a work-from-home parent. Needless to say there is very little work actually getting done while Mom's at work, on account of the fact that his daddy can't resist the cuteness either and just wants to hold him all the time. C, however, is better at it than I am because he did actually manage to get some cleaning done yesterday between feedings. I can only hope that I'll be so luckily productive over the weekend.

One Month

Well, we've made it 30 + days and the baby is still alive. Whew! It's been a crazy month. The longest of my life? Hmm. Maybe not, but definitely in the running. Now that it's over, I can say the typical "OMG it went so fast!" but I clearly remember thinking on many an occasion "Everyone says this goes by so fast....when does that start?" In any case, we're into month 2 now and things are getting easier. Or maybe I'm just accustomed to functioning on 4 hours of sleep already...in any case, here he is at one month old: What did we accomplish in the first month (other than keeping him alive, which is a feat in and of itself)? Well, not really anything more exciting than the actual birthing part. He did catch onto breastfeeding pretty easily, though the first couple of attempts at the hospital were hit and miss(thank god for knowledgeable nurses!). He's a champ at it nowadays, and I think that if he were left up to his own devices he'd eat all the time. Mastering the nursing thing is about it, though, as far as accomplishments go. I mean, that is, unless you count getting cuter and cuter by the day an accomplishment. Which it well should be! I mean, look at this baby:How freaking cute is he? Granted I'm a little bit biased, but he really is freaking precious. Everything he does is cute. he's even cute when he sleeps:
Speaking of which, he does seem to be getting better at the whole sleeping thing. There is usually at least one 4 hour stretch at night that his dad and I are both able to sleep, and that usually falls between midnight and 4 am. Being at work by 6 am for two years has trained me to be up around 4 anyway, so I guess it works. I've been pretty bad about bringing him into the bed with me in the mornings, though, and not surprisingly, he loves to sleep in my bed. It's amazing how much of a bed such a little thing can take up. And along the same lines of spoiling my child, turns out he loves the carrier too:
This thing allows me to get so much done! And of course he falls asleep within minutes of putting him in it and then I can't get him out without waking him up again, so he may or may not have slept in the carrier while it laid on the couch on more than one occasion. Don't judge.

Colt made his first road trip during his first 30 days on Earth too. We headed north for Shnookie Shnook's wedding. I'll be posting pictures from that affair later, but I would like to take this opportunity to say that traveling with an infant was not nearly the clusterf*ck I thought it would be. I figure that's mostly because IF is only three hours away, and Colt eats just about every three hours, so he slept most of the way up AND most of the way back. Lucky! Of course there was plenty of pass-the-baby going on, and vigilant as we are, we did manage to get four generations pictures with both sides of my family. Excellent :)

So that's it for now, but pictures of the baby are piling up on my phone more and more every day, so more to come soon.