20 months!

20 months!!! We are getting closer to his 2nd birthday!! I can't believe it! Colton is developing quite the personality now. He has some of the Best facial expressions. When he smiles he Lights up the room!!

Don't get me wrong he has his moments. He seems to get frustrated because he can't express what he wants or needs. When this happens he whines/fusses/cries. He is testing us and we aren't giving in. Over Easter we were taking a picture of all the kids before they went and hunted eggs and he wanted nothing to do with the picture. He laid on the ground and all the kids were looking at him and we just left him there. It was a great picture because all the kids were staring at him like he was crazy, he will learn. So, like I said he does have his moments, but overall he is such a happy boy!!

We are so grateful that we have been blessed with such a wonderful boy. He is healthier now than he ever has been!

Here are some things he is up to and doing at 20 months!!

• Says love you, night night, bird, yogurt, brush, Manny (Handy Manny), hat, more, thank you, spoon, hold me, light, lawn mower, water, bye-bye, hi, uh-oh, no (when he says no, it is very soft) - remember he doesn't say it perfect! :)
• Says, 'yes ma'am' and 'yes sir' when prompted
• When asked, 'what do you say?' he will respond with the proper answer: please or thank you
• Says, thank you when we give him something. He has been doing it without being prompted, not every time but he is doing it on his own!! You can never work on manners to early!!
• Loves his gummy vitamins! When you bring the bottle out he grins from ear to ear!
• Spots birds and points to them.
• Can point out Mama, Dada, Colton, Grand Dude, Nana, G-Pa & G-Mama in a picture when asked
• Pointed out a picture of his cousin Reese on the fridge and said, "eese!" with a Big grin!!
• Can say different animal sounds: cow, dog, horse
• Learning how to drink out of a cup without a lid
• Loves to help Mama and Dada!
• helps with laundry - pushing the basket to the laundry room, putting clothes into the dryer, and hands Mama clothes when it is time to fold and put them away
• Loves to feed Dakota and Leland - it takes him a LONG time to put their food in the bowls but he really enjoys doing this.
• Enjoys pushing anything with wheels around. If we are outside he gets the jogging stroller and pushes it all over or if we are inside he enjoys pushing his Home Depot tractor and Hummer! He especially likes to push them towards the dogs.
• Eating so much better since he had his tubes put in!
• Loves yogurt! He enjoys Danimals, we put a straw in it and sucks it down.
• Enjoys playing with his golf clubs and golf/wiffle balls.
• Playing 'bring it in big' with Daddy! He tells Daddy to back up and he backs up as far as he can, then Daddy bends down and says, "Bring it in Big Buddy!!" and Colton runs into Daddy's arms for a BIG hug!! It is so cute to watch!!
• Gives BIG bear hugs!!
• When we say prayers he clasps his hands and is starting to bow his head. Sometimes at dinner while we are praying he will start "talking." He is praying, we Love hearing him when he does it!!
• Says 'Amen' at the end of prayers.
• Backs up to his growth chart for us to measure him.
• Learned to Jump!! He loves jumping and thinks it is so funny!!
• Loves to climb!! He is Fearless and will climb on the bar stools and stand on them at the bar!! Scary, but no worries we are always right there when he does it!
• He has learned how to get water out of the door of the fridge! We have been putting the lock on so water doesn't go all over the floor.
• Loves snuggling with Mom and Dad!!
• Loves Handy Manny! Our DVR is jam packed of Handy Manny, luckily the show isn't that bad. And yes, we all sing when the songs come on and Colton dances and shakes his hands!!
• Loves wearing his camo baseball hat! He knows where we keep it, on his closet door, and he will go and get it when we are going somewhere. 
• Loves going on walks in the stroller and for bike rides. We have a seat that goes on the back of Daddy's bike and he loves riding back there. He just sits and chills while we enjoy the ride or walk.
• Enjoys coloring pictures, whether it is a white sheet of paper or a coloring page. He is really good at going, fast fast fast!! We haven't painted or used markers at home but this summer I have a feeling we will be doing lots of fun arts and crafts! That is what his Mama Loves to do! We are sticking with colored pencils and crayons right now.
• When reading Goodnight Moon, one of his favorites, he can point out many of the items while reading the book. When we get to the quiet old lady whispering hush, he puts his finger to his mouth and whispers hush. :) 
• Beginning to learn how to put things and toys back where they belong.
• Belly laughs so hard sometimes!! It is so priceless to hear and very contagious!!

He was smiling so BIG because we had vitamins in our hand!! Yes, Bribery! :)

 Love that smile!!

18 month Stats!

WOW!! I can't believe Colton is 18 months!!! That is crazy!!! He is doing wonderfully and has grown up within the past month. Since his surgery he has been eating more, talking more, learning more words and much happier!!

He had a great 18 month check up besides getting a shot. Dr. K is so happy to see clear ears and a clear chest! I think we have finally fought the RSV and hopefully have to stay away from the breathing treatments for good! He has grown since his last visit to the doctor!! Here are some of the things he is doing and up to at 18 months!

• Weight: 26 lbs 7 oz - 60th percentile
• Height: 33 1/4" - 75th percentile
• Head: 19 1/4" - 75th percentile
• Loves his fish tank and stands on his stool and watches them all the time saying, "ish"
• Loves bubbles and learned how to say, "bubble"
• Can point to his ears, eyes, nose, head, feet, cheek, mouth, teeth
• Loves to read!!
• Knows what is hot and he will say, "hot" and hold his hand up
• Says please, thank you, more, ball, dadda, mama, fooball
• Whenever he sees a dog he says, "woof woof"
• Points to baby, duck, dog
• Loves Dakota & Leland and hangs out with them all the time
• Sleeps with his monkey
• Loves being outside and exploring new things
• Shoots the deer with his hand and says, "bang!"
• Discovered his shadow

Of course there are more things, and as I'm typing this I am drawing a blank. But I can see that he brings so much joy to our lives!! He is such a blessing!

Daddy measuring Colton on his new growth chart

 18 months already! Time has flown!

 Discovered his shadow

 Chasing his shadow trying to catch it!



7 1/2 Months & Pulling Up

Crawling happened about 6 1/2 months and now at 7 1/2 months he started pulling up. He crawled towards Dakota and pulled up right next to her. He pulls up real well but was struggling with sitting back down. One night we were with him and he was fussy and we werent' sure why. We figured out that he was afraid to sit down from standing up. He would take one hand off whatever he was holding on to and then he would put it quickly back to hold whatever it was. He did this for a few days. We showed him what he needed to do and after a few days very cautiously he would have one hand on the coffee table and lower his other hand to the ground until he touched it and then he would lower his other arm. We were able to watch him accomplish this achievement for the first time. It was so neat to see him overcome his fear and learn what he needed to do! Now he has it down but still is a bit cautious lowering himself down at times.

Dakota & Colton hanging out looking outside.

4 Months Old!

Info to come. I have to copy it out of his baby book. I have done really well keeping his baby book up to date but I am a tad behind with our blog. I'm working on being better about keeping this updated.

3 Months Old!

This month we didn't have a check-up, but we did go see Dr. Kisch for his RSV on the 14th so I was able to see how much he weighed. Time is flying by and he is getting so big!

• Weight - 13 pounds 3 ounces
• He was sleeping 6-8 hours at night until he got his first cold/RSV. When he was sick he woke up mre often.
• He does not sleep well at school which helps him sleep for longer periods at night. At home he sleeps on his belly if he is not sick and at daycare they have him sleep on his back and we think that is one reason why he may not sleep very well there.
• During the day he eats every 3-4 hours and at night every 6-8 hours. When he was sick he would eat every 4-6 hours at night.
• Colton discovered his hands! He studies them very closely all the time.
• He also discovered his reflection in the mirror. Whenever we look in the mirror together it takes a couple seconds but then he smiles and watches himself. In the car we have a mirror so we can see him, he loves watching himself in that mirror while we are driving.
• Colton smiles all the time and has started to laugh when Mom and Dad play with him.
• He watches Mom and Dad and other things around him. He focuses on many things and moves his eyes following objects.
• Loves to coo and loves to hear himself make noises.

2 Months!

Once again I'm behind on blogging. We finally have the laptop up and running on wireless so I can blog anywhere and have little man with me. I have been keeping his baby book up to date so I do have all of the information and milestones he has been making.

• Height - 22 7/8 inches, 50th percentile
• Weight - 11 pounds 14 ounces, 50-55th percentile
• Head - 15 6/8 inches, 50th percentile
• He is sleeping 5-6 hours at night!! YAY!!
• During the day he eats every 3 hours
• Colton discovered Mommy & Daddy focusing his eyes on us. What an Amazing feeling it is to see your son stare at you! On his swing he has ducks that circle above him and he Loved watching them go round and round. When they would stop he would make a noise and we turned them back on so they would start moving.
• Colton smiled when Mommy & Daddy talked to him and he would recognize our voices and turn towards our voice with a smile.
• Started daycare because Mom went back to work. Colton started at Childtime and went there for 2 weeks and then he went to KinderCare. We moved him because of some management issues. We loved his teacher and hated having to leave them, but he was taken in with open arms at his new school and we are very happy there.
• Colton discovered his voice! He loves to coo and hear the noises he can make. Sometimes he gets real loud. Cody and I think he gets louder because he knows he is making different noises and to get our attention. We love watching him "talk and tell us stories" as we like to call it.

1 Month!

Every month birthday Colton has we are taking his picture in his Colton chair to see how much he has grown! We made it through the first month and it was wonderful. Parenthood came very natural to the both of us. Our mother and fatherly instincts kicked in right away. As parents we work very well together and help each other out. Being mommy and daddy has been such a blessing and we are loving every minute. Here are some things that have happened in the first month of Colton's life.

• Height - 21 inches, 40th percentile
• Weight - 10 pounds 4 ounces, 75th percentile  As you can tell he is having no problems eating :)
• Head - 15 1/8 inches, 50th percentile
• Dr. Kisch, Colton's pediatrician, is very happy with the way he is growing.
• 3 weeks old he was put on Prevacid for his Acid Reflux. He would spit up all the time and it would be projectile at times and whenever he spit up he would get real fussy and cry. Since he has been on the medicine we have seen such a huge improvement. He keeps his food down and does not get fussy when he spits up a little. There have been a few times when he spits up his medicine after we give it to him and we see a big difference from when he is on his medicine and when he has spit it up. It is nice to know that it is working and helping him. Hopefully he will not have to be on Prevacid forever and he will grow out of his Acid Reflux.
• Taking his medicine, Prevacid, he does a great job! It smells like strawberries so it must taste good. We are so thankful that he doesn't fight us when we give it to him. He just takes it right in!
• Colton sleeps all the time! For the most part he knows when it is night time and does not think that he needs to be awake in the middle of the night.
• During the day he would stay awake anywhere from 1-2 hours at a time.
• Feeding times vary from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Before he was on Prevacid he would if more frequently because he would always spit up. Now that he is on it he can go for a longer period.
• He is becoming more alert with his eyes, they open more and more everyday.