HALLOWEEN...ARGH!

What a difference a year makes! Last Halloween Colin was so young and not at all aware of what was going on, but this year was totally different. My Mom came over and we all went over to the old neighborhood and walked in the annual parade (with the Gs of course) and then spent the evening at the Gs. We took Colin and Ryan around to a few houses and they thought itwas the coolest thing ever.

They had little idea of what they were getting in their trick or treat bags but they knew it was fun to walk up and down stairs and talk to people.

Much fun!!!

Weekend in Williamsburg

We spent a wonderful two days in Williamsburg last weekend with the Wilkinson clan. Colin had a great time and spent quite a bit of that time hanging out with his Grandpa G. He loved sitting on his lap playing with the remote controls:)

A milestone of note was that we finally got a good pitcture of Colin and his Aunt Amanda West - woo hoo!

New Mexico

We just got back from an amazing trip to New Mexico to visit my Dad and Valerie. They moved there permanently in June and this was our first visit. We had a fantastic time. The ranch (500 acres!) was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

My sister Amanda and her husband Chris met us at the airport and we drove the three hours to the ranch from the Albuquerque airport. Colin was fantastic on the plane which was a huge relief. He had been a bit of a "pistol" the last few weeks so we were pretty worried the travel would be a nightmare. But, he proved us wrong...he was practically perfect. He was actually close to perfect the entire trip. Not a huge surprise though as the ranch is a little boys' paradise! Tons of land, dirt, water, animals and more...what more could you want. He hung out on the 4-wheeler,played with the dogs and cats,got on a horse with his Grandpa,threw rocks in the stream and generally had an awesome time.

We can't wait until our next trip!!!

WALKING

Oh yeah, have to write about our latest big milestone...Colin is walking now. He started off by walking a few steps the weekend of Farmapalooza and by the next week (Sept 29) he was walking across the room. He isn't running or jumping yet but I am pretty sure it won't be long now:)

Running Behind

I'm sadly behind in posting so I am going to try to catch up with a few updates.

We had a great weekend at the end of September in the mountains for Farmapalooza - a big party thrown by one of our neighbors that includes music, a moonbounce, food and lots of fun. My mom, Lynne and Wells came for the weekend and we all had a great time at the party and hanging out at the cabin.

Brad and Wells competed in and won the Badminton Tournament. Colin thought he could play too. Check it out...

One Year Check Up

Well - he's healthy! We had Colin's one year check up yesterday and the doctor pronounced him happy and healthy. She was more than pleased with his development and interaction skills:) He was not terribly impressed with being weighed and measured (required him to hold still) but we finally got him to cooperate. He weighs 22.5 lbs (45th percentile) and is 31 inches tall (85th percentile). What does all that mean? Well, for the moment he's tall and skinny:) Sort of like his momma used to be (the skinny part not so much anymore).

He got two shots and his blood taken - yuck. Daddy held him and told him everything would be OK. Of course, that didn't help much while he was being stuck with the needles but he was perfectly fine the second it was over.

The funniest part of the visit was when they gave us a handout about temper tantrums and how to deal with them. I mean really?!?! At the one year check up?!? Seemed a little much to me. Probably the reason we are going to try to switch doctors.

Oh well...the boy passed his inspection with flying colors...no rejection sticker for little Colin!

Beach = sand = unhappy Colin

Well, we are back from our beach vacation with new knowledge that Colin hates sand. Fortunately, we are fond of walking up and down the beach and standing knee deep in the water and letting the waves crash on us...fortunate because Colin LOVED this activity. Every time a wave crashed on him he giggled. Thank goodness.

The weather was great but Colin spent most of his time under a canopy at the beach or more often by the pool. He did just fine with this, especially when we scooted the baby pool under the canopy!

We did get to take some fun family pics the night before we left. We didn't have the matching outfits but I think they turned out pretty well after all.

Colin is 1!

Well, it is official. One full year has passed since the day Colin was born. What an amazing year this has been. Colin spent the weekend celebrating his birthday with family and friends. His first gift was from Christina (his nanny/aunt)...a Radio Flyer tricycle. So cute! He isn't quite big enough for it yet but he'll get there.

His big birthday party was Saturday...what a blast. He got lots of good loot from everyone:) A push car, Redskins (Portis) jersey, Radio Flyer wagon, clothes, books, toys...so much!!!! He loved his cake...a two layer number with a monkey crawling up the side and another one on top. In true chill Colin fashion he simply pulled the monkey off the top and then touched the cake with his feet (this child is oddly tactile with his feet). No attacking of the cake or shoving it in his mouth...so laid back this little monkey:)

On Sunday afternoon, we celebrated his b-day with his BFF Ryan (born on the same day) and he did have a little more fun with the homemade cake mommy made. He and Ryan had a blast cruising around the backyard in the wagon he got from his mooma (grandma File).

What a great weekend!!!

Uncle Brian

Thanks Uncle Brian (Madora) for my first official guest blog entry. We can't wait until he and Courtney have their little girl:)

It is now 10pm. Mother Nature calls. Who am I to deny the overwhelming urge that she has bestowed upon me. Yeah, you got it....I just crapped my diaper. Honestly, now that I think of it, wallowing around in this crap...no pun intented...isn't my idea of a good time. Time to cry. Fast foward about two minutes. Thanks Mom. You missed a spot with the powder on my undercarriage. There, you got it. I think I'll just fuss around for another 20 minutes until I get the attention that I rate, then let you go about your evening. I love you Mom. Goodnight...Colin.

On the bandwagon

OK, everybody is doing it and as much as it pains me to jump on the bandwagon I figure this is a pretty good way to chronicle Colin's life and times. So, here we go...