Another Year!

Lately I have thought many times..."How in the world did I get to be 36 years old?" I look at pictures and I think I look old and tired...and I see lots of new wrinkles every single day.

Each wrinkle on my face has a story, some are from laughing and some are from crying. I have experienced things in my life that I never could have imagined - most good, but not all.

This past year I mourned the loss of our daughter as I was pregnant with my son. I had so many mixed emotions, I sometimes wonder how we made it through the year. But I am stronger because of it all. I appreciate everything so much more. I am sure that I do not love my son anymore than any of my friends love their children, but I will do everything I possibly can to give my son the life he deserves to live. I will give him every ounce of everything I have until I can't give anymore...because I am his mom!

I have read this quote several times over the past few days...

I hope your best day of 2009 is your worst day of 2010...or something like that.

I wish all of you a blessed 2010.

A White Christmas (to say the least).

The best gift I have ever received in my life. Opening presents Christmas morning! At one of our stops on the Yellow Stone trip - a warming house/information center...with heated restrooms - the last ones before Old Faithful...popular stop! Cole enjoying snow for the first time...I had to hold him so he wouldn't sink.

My brother started talking about taking his kids somewhere that had "real" snow for Christmas. A lady he works with had just came back from Jackson Hole and talked about how wonderful her trip was...so our vacation plans began. Mom called Dan and I and asked if we would be interested in going to Wyoming for Christmas - I thought it sounded a bit odd, but sure...we would go.

I was really worried about flying with a 7 month old - I didn't want to have "that kid" on the plane. Cole was great. He slept a bit, laughed a lot, and did a lot of flirting. He also did his lovely dinosaur screech throughout both flights - pretty sure the people around us didn't think it was cute and funny like his mommy and daddy do, but better than crying right?

On Christmas Eve we had a sleigh ride planned. We started to take Cole, but it was just to darn cold, so Dan and I stayed at the house and then met everyone for a yummy dinner. Cole is great at dinner, sitting in his highchair, as long as you give him some "real" food. He had a lot of firsts this trip - including pasta, chicken nuggets, pancakes, and even a french fry or two...whatever it takes. He has four teeth now and is getting really good a pinching little bits of food, so we are giving him more and more finger foods. My mom gave him a pea and he yakked all over the table at this super-fancy restaurant...oh well! We spent Christmas Day at the house. Santa even found us in Jackson Hole. Cole got lots of cute things from his Ga and Pa and Uncle Skip's family. He was definitely more interested in the wrapping paper and ribbon. We stayed in our pjs all day (a Collett tradition) and my mom made chicken and dumpling soup. It was great! The next day we went on a 12 hour day trip to Yellow Stone...yeah...12 hours with a baby. We left at 6am and returned at 6pm. It was fabulous. Lots of great scenery, lots of snow, and lots of animals. I would say it is not too often that you are driving down a road and a gigantic moose is standing 100 yards away... I am not exactly "one with nature", but it was still pretty amazing. Dan and my brother's family went skiing a couple of times. We went tubing down a big hill. Definitely my kind of tubing. They hooked you up to a pulley system and pulled you to the top of the hill - no climbing. As we were sitting in the living room on Christmas Day I said, "Jeez, if this is Cole's first Christmas, how in the world are we supposed to top this?" Dan piped in with - "Ahhh, he won't remember this so it is fine." Only Dan. You go on trips and can only hope that it will be all what you expect - Jackson Hole exceeded any expectations I could ever have had. It was a wonderful place to visit and a wonderful way to spend the holidays with my family.

New Floors - YIPPEE!!!

Our living room with the new rug (I think the rugs cost more than the floors :)

What used to be our formal dining room...now Cole's (and Dan's) playroom.

Our office with the new black shag rug!

Our kitchen (after the New Year's Party...not too messy huh?).

I have wanted hardwood floors in our house since the day we signed the papers, but other projects seemed more "important" at the time. After Cole was born and the formula, spit-up, and just baby "stuff" started to be a regular thing at our house...we committed to saving for new floors.

Dan was determined to install them himself. I never doubted his ability, just the time it would take and then living in a house with cement floors as he completed each room...not really my cup of tea. Dan decided to take 3 weeks off of work and do the install - I thought that was a good compromise, I could live in a mess for 3 weeks (I think?). He started talking to his Dad and he offered to come and help, then all of the sudden Chris, our brother-in-law, was coming with him.

The three of them worked so hard everyday. I would go to work and come home to a completed room. It was awesome. I did all of the putting back together and all of the major DUSTING (not sure if we will ever get rid of all of the tile demo dust). I also made sure they had good food for dinner, until they started in the kitchen and I didn't have an oven for a few days...but Rudy's and Pizza Hut worked for us on those nights.

Our floors are fabulous and Cole scoots around faster than ever. I am so lucky to have a handy husband (and family) that tolerates all of my house plans. We have one more big project in the house over the next month or so and I think we are done for a while. I know "things" do not make a home, but it is sure wonderful living in a place that you love to come home to at the end of the day.

Daddy Santa

This morning my school hosted Breakfast With Santa for all of the students. We couldn't find anyone to play Santa, so I "voluntold" Dan that he was this year's DPS Santa...he said I owed him BIG TIME! He was the best Santa ever - patient, sweet, and even looked the part.

The best part of the day was when it was Cole's turn to take his picture with Santa. He sat down on Daddy Santa's lap and started smiling. Mom and I were pretty sure he recognized his Daddy right away. He started grabbing his beard and pawing at his face. He actually almost pulled the beard off in front of over 100 kids waiting in line to sit on Santa's lap. We tried everything to get Cole to look at us, but he was too busy smiling at his Dad and trying to pull his beard...it looked like he was saying, "Dad, take that thing off and play with me." No matter what...the picture is classic!

I don't say it often enough, I truly have the most generous husband. He gives and gives, no matter what is asked of him. I am very lucky to have met such a wonderful man...in a bar...singing karaoke!

Seven Months and Counting

Cole turned 7 months old today...and yes...I can't believe another month has gone by. He is such a good boy - I know we are a bit bias, being his parents and all, but Dan and I truly believe that we have the best little boy. He is such a smiley boy - he even smiles at me as I rock him to sleep. I try not to "engage" so he will fall asleep, but it is soooooo hard. I usually just close my eyes and rest my chin on his little head so he can't make me giggle. Nothing better than snuggling with a sleepy baby.

Cole is eating like a champ. He loves all of his fruits and veggies, and the occasional lick of our food. He is fascinated with our food and drinks - when we eat he just grabs and grabs and anything and everything...including Daddy's beer. He still despises peas, but he loves everything else so far. He tried mango this week, not quite sure at first, but now he is eating it without hesitation.

He is such a good sleeper too. Cole goes to sleep around 7:00pm and doesn't wake up until about 6:30am. He sometimes tries to play at 5:15ish, he talks to me in the video monitor for about 10 minutes and then goes back to sleep. It is so hard to not go and get him, but I know his routine now and he still is a sleepy boy and needs a little more sleep. Some mornings he wakes up before I leave for work and I get a few extra minutes with him. It is funny, when I go and pick him up from his crib, even in the complete dark, he grabs for my necklaces. He keeps feeling for them even when I, don't have one on.

I had to break down and move him to the big bathtub. I should have moved him months ago, but I wasn't sure how he would like it. He has always loved bath time, since his very first bath, and I didn't want this to change. He LOVES the big bathtub. He lays on his belly and kicks his feet like he is swimming. His Nana (Dan's mom) bought him some fun bathtub toys for Christmas and he loves them. He has to take one with him as we dress him in his pajamas. I know we will sign him up for swim safety lessons next summer. He plays and plays until we take him out of the tub.

Cole is sitting up on his own now, for really long periods of time before reaching for something and tumbling onto his side or tummy - he sits and plays with his little karaoke stage (it is a mirror with a music, a microphone, and flashing lights - only fitting since Dan and I met singing karaoke). He also has a little basketball goal that cheers when he makes a basket. He is starting to clap (with a little help), but cheers "yay" when anyone claps their hands. He is also starting to give kisses. He grabs your cheeks with both of his little hands and puts his mouth against your mouth. He is not exactly puckering up, but it still is the sweetest thing ever.

He is also totally fascinated with his dogs, Allie and Brady. He scooches over to the baby gate and talks to them. He is even grabs the railing and tries to pull himself up to get to them. They tolerate him so far...even letting him do the whole - bang, bang, bang on their heads.

It is such an exciting time of the year, celebrating the upcoming holidays and all. I am so thankful that I get to share all of my family traditions with my son this year.

Six Whole Months

I know I say this every month, but it is so hard for me to believe that Cole has been in our lives for six whole months. Our lives have changed so much, but so much for the better. Dan and I talk quite often about how lucky we are to have such a happy, social, sweet little boy.

Cole is now 23lbs 9oz and 28 1/2 inches long. He is starting to wear 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers. I KNOW...we have a big boy. He is in the 97 percentile in height and weight. Cole is way bigger than all of his friends. I think he will slow down here as he starts to move around more, but if he is already the size of an average one year old at six months...I can't imagine him in May. Needless to say, I think he will be the kid in the center top row of the class picture (just like his mommy and daddy were).

Cole is definitely becoming his own little man already. He talks a lot and has started making lots of new silly noises. He imitates our sounds a lot and often sticks his tongue out at us and spits...I am hoping this is not a sign of things to come. I am really trying to get him to start the mmmm sound of mommy, but he just laughs at me. I am sure his first word will be da da :)

Our sweet boy is rolling all over the place. I put him on his blanket in the living room - with tons of toys and before I turn around he has rolled 3 times and is under the coffee table - and not exactly happy to be there. He is also reaching for the toy that he wants and then scooching to it. He has started putting his butt way up in the air, like a worm, and moving towards whatever he wants to get. He is trying really hard to sit up on his own, but he can only sit for a few seconds without our help - usually because he starts reaching for something and falls over. Tonight he started leaning forward really far as he sat up and then lunged to his belly to scooch...maybe the first signs of trying to crawl - well it kind of looked that way to us.

My kid is definitely a fruit lover. We tried all of the veggies - squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, and peas - has hated peas so far...he gags and throws a mild "tantrum" if you try to make him eat peas. He loved everything else until I started introducing fruits. He loves fresh banana, apples, peaches, pears, prunes, and even plums. He has a little rash on his cheeks from the plums right now, but nothing to unusual. I have to trick him into eating many of the veggies now, because he wants his fruits. Oh well, better than french fries right? We just started giving him a little water out of a sippy cup too. He has figured out how to get it out, he drinks a bit, then plays with the cup. He had a blast banging and chewing on the cup tonight after dinner.

My little boy has 2 bottom teeth now. He got his first tooth at 5 months 1 week and his next tooth the very next week. He wasn't a very happy boy with both coming in at the same time. I think he might be getting ready for his top ones now, but Dr. Millar said his top gums didn't look too swollen yet.

Cole is sleeping in his own bed, in his own room...and mommy has slowly made her way out of the room next to his...video monitors rock by the way. I also moved the monitor to Dan's side of the bed so I would stop waking up all night long to check on him. He goes to bed around 7pm and wakes up around 6:30 every morning (99% of the time - he had a rough week last week, but now is back on track). He starts off in the center of the bed, on his back - but NEVER ends up that way. He twirls around and around and then ends up on his tummy sometime in the early hours. He seems to like to sleep on his side the best (like me). I am not usually home when he wakes up in the morning, but Dan sends me pics and video of him almost every single day - singing and playing. He wakes up happy and HUNGRY!

Like I said, it is hard for me to believe our son is six whole months - it has gone by so quickly. I am sure I will say that every month - times flies when you are having fun...

A Sad Day Made Happy!!!

We had a cul-de-sac carnival on Saturday in celebration of Halloween. 50 plus people, including adults and children enjoyed the festivities (and wonderful weather).

A few months back I was talking to the neighbors about how we should do a neighborhood "carnival" for our kids someday...we did it one time when I was a kid and it was so much fun. Well, better now than later right? So the planning began...

Dan, Cole, and I put flyers on our neighbor's doors and asked them to email me if they were interested. I received lots of emails, but once many found out they had to be responsible for a game/activity - the number dwindled. In the end, we had over 20 booths including a bounce House, Pumpkin Plink-o, a Mad Scientist Lab, a train ride, tattoos, Pumpkin Bowling and a lot, lot more. We received permission from the city to block off the street, everyone brought lots of yummy food, and we had perfect, perfect weather. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time - kids and adults!

Brynn's due date was October 31st - she would have turned one this week, and after loosing her, I had convinced myself that Halloween would never be fun again, but I was wrong. I definitely had a few moments yesterday...I had to fight back tears - but watching my sweet boy enjoying all of the fun helped me turn those tears into smiles.