After Christmas, we had Joe's parents visiting so we decided to take them to the 

Meadowlark Walk of Lights.

We had multiple friends that did this this year and raved about it.  

We figured if nothing else it would be something good to do.

We decided to go with the Baby Bjorn instead of a stroller because Collin

loves that thing and is so happy in it.  

We also felt it would let him see more.

Going after Christmas was a great decision as no one was there and we could take our time and now worry about how loud Collin was babbling... which he was.

He was fascinated by the lights... and just kept talking and talking.  

My favorite was the fish pond with flying fish.  

I was actually pretty impressed too as I was not expecting much.

This will definitely be a every year event for us.  

Collin also slept 13 hours that night so I think it was well worth the stimulation!

Your new room

For about 2 months now I had trying to convince Joe that we needed to turn our breakfast nook into 

Collin's new playroom.  He fought me on it.. and by fight I mean just did not agree with me.

Then we went to Clemson where our friends had a little designated area for their little girl to play in,

after this Joe was sold.  

We loved our breakfast nook but the reality was we had a dinning room table that we could use for every day eating.  

My parents agreed to help store the furniture as I know someday we will move and need it, these were also the first pieces I bought myself when I lived up in Baltimore so I have a little sentimental attachment.  

Picture of our old sunroom...

Collin helping mommy move everything out..

So I started to look for options because I wanted a playroom but not a playroom.

I wanted it to look nice but also be functional and if you know me I am a minimalist and do not like things out in the open.  

I looked at Pottery Barn Kids but the price tag was just too much.  

So on the day Collin was suffering from his first cold, Joe and I headed to Ikea 

and after 40 minutes in the store left with the Versa Storage system.

It is actually three pieces placed together and then a glass top applied on top to make them look like one.  It took Joe less than 1 hour to put together and this is one of the best decisions we made.

Let me start by stating this was the smartest thing we have done-
SERIOUSLY- AMAZING!!!!

This morning when he woke up early and I was not ready to function,
I sat in the chair that we moved in to the playroom for the Christmas season to make room for the tree, and reflected on how much I love our playroom.

I love our playroom because for the most part it has made my life easier....

1) It is a confined space that I can let him be free and he can do no damage to anything

2) The cabinet that we purchased from IKEA has drawers which let him open and close, keeping him out of the kitchen.

3) It is a space that I can let him mess up and it does not affect the rest of the house- I am really loving this.  We use to let him play in our living room and I hated it because it is the first thing you see when you walk up to the main level in our house.  The playroom is off the kitchen and a little more out of the way.

Goodbye To a Friend

Last Sunday marked a special day that I will always remember-

Sending my hospital grade pump back to the hospital.

I had it rented for 9 months and I was ready for it to go.

It was a sign that my time pumping was coming soon.  

Thanks to some advice from some friends and also lactation consultants that I work with,

I went home from the hospital with a pump

and it was the smartest thing I did.  

After being admitted to the ICU and then going thru a difficult two weeks

with Collin not wanting to nurse and just wanting a bottle, 

I was so happy to have this.

It was because of this pump that up to this point Collin

has received nothing but breastmilk when it comes to his

liquid intake.

Yes I could have extended the pump to keep me going for the whole first year,

but I have a Ameda portable pump that I use at work that I received thru 

my insurance which has worked great.

Now that I am only pumping 3-4 times a day, it did not seem necessary, 

especially since I hope to be done pumping by the end of January/Beginning of Feburary.  

I have about a months worth of breast milk saved and I will be transitioning him to whole milk a week or two before his first birthday as we are going on a trip and do not want to worry about carrying breast milk with us.  

Goodbye Breast Pump...

It has been nice knowing you....

NOT!!!

I had to get some pictures so that I can show Collin when he is acting up to remind him of all that I did for him =0)

9 Months

9 Months

This by far has been my favorite and my least favorite at the same time.  

You are gaining an attitude and while I love that, it is very clearly that you are going to be your mother's son and be a very willed child.  You laugh when I say no well because it is funny mommy!  

You are also becoming a little more independent which I am loving.  

You can play with your books and toys while I make dinner or empty the dishwasher.   

You are officially cruising and I know any day you are just going to start walking.

You want to get into everything and you are fearless.  Even your teachers at school have commented on how fearless you are.   

Your food intake has not really changed from 8 to 9 months.  

This does not surprise me.

We have started to give you more real people food which you are loving and am hoping that by 10 months you will be completely on real people food.  

I really have not enjoyed the whole baby food phase because it means a lot more planning on my part.  

You have officially learned the sign for “all done” which has helped during meal time. 

You can also hold your own bottle which has proved to be amazing.

You know the sign for milk but are not doing it yourself yet.  

You are sleeping great going down around 7 pm and sleeping till 7 am and then still taking two naps.   Nothing has really changed here either.

You are starting to become more verbal and say "Ma ma ma" all the time but I do not know if you mean it.  

At your recent 9 month appointment, you weighted 21 pounds even and are almost 30 inches long- still 90% for height and 80% for weight.  You are in 12-18 month clothing depending on the brand.  

You are absolutely love Clemson puppy and we spend most of our day chasing him around the house which means him and you both tired.  

This month we had a lot of first such as our 

First Thanksgiving

Our first Trip to see Santa 

(which you rocked by the way)

I was warned that you might cry the whole time but I was smart and went on a Monday Morning when no one was there.  I put you on Santa’s lap and you just started babbling to him and then tried to pull his beard, which was real.

 Up next...

Christmas

Happy Thanksgiving

Joe wanted to do Thanksgiving up this year,

after talking him down we decided to go with a laid back Thanksgiving.

I was so glad we made this decision.

Collin slept in till 8 am- yes our little Champion!

We spent the morning playing and just hanging out.

Then in the afternoon my parents came over to Celebrate Thanksgiving with us. 

 Collin loved Thanksgiving dinner.

He actually ate some green beans, and mash potatoes.  

I was so happy we decided to do low key because it ended up being much more enjoyable.

Seriously, who ever thought up pre-made Thanksgiving Meals is a genius!!!

That night we placed Collin in his Santa PJs that I scored for super cheap! 

Because you can not begin to celebrate Christmas until AFTER

THANKSGIVING IS OVER!!!!

8 Months!

8 Months

Thank you Jesus- you are back to being Collin.

The day after I took you into the pediatricians office just to make sure you did not have like a subacute ear infection or something going on, you decided to be our little “Champion” again.  

THANK YOU!!!!!  Your father and I appreciate it. 

You are still continuing to grow like crazy.  I currently have you in 12 months clothing.  

When I took you into the pediatricians office you were roughly 21 pounds.  

You will get an official measurement around 9 months in December.  

You are sleeping now from around 7 pm till around 6-7:30 am.  

Your naps are rocking!!! 2 hours in the morning and then 1-2 hours in the afternoon.  

This is giving me more time to get other things done since now you are official mobile and I can’t take my eyes of of you.

Yeap you are on the move!  You are crawling, climbing stairs, pulling yourself up and tonight you pushed your toy car for 3-4 steps on your own.  Your teachers at school state you will be walking by Christmas.  Personally I just love that you now know that when I leave a room and tell you to follow me you can- you are getting too heavy for me!  However, this means I can not leave you for a second now which means that your nap time is so important for me getting anything done.  

You are eating three meals a day now- anywhere from 4-8 ounces.  

Seriously you can eat!  

Your favorite is Plum Purple Carrot and Happy Baby Mango-  

We will not be giving you Plum anymore because of a recent recall.  

Still on all breastmilk and drinking 20-28 ounces a day, however I am noticing that this is decreasing which inside seriously makes me yell - YES!!!!! (As this is one more sign that I can stop pumping soon!)  

We have started giving you cheerios and puffs and slowly starting to get small amounts of table food.  You have still not perfected the pincher grasp but it will come in time.  

You love to read!  

You will sit down with me and have story time for 20-30 minutes three or four times a day.   

This is one of my new favorite times we share.  

You have become quite the talker at times.  I think this because you have been moved up to the next room in school where you are the youngest.  You love to say “Mama” all the time… which totally makes your dad upset.  When we were at the cabin I actually think you said Mama and meant it.  

You now know your signs- meaning if I do the sign for milk you will start making a noise if you are hungry, and the sign for “more” as well.  You can’t sign back yet but I am hoping that will come soon.

You absolutely are in love with Clemson and now like to chase him around the house- if Clemson only shared in that love.  

You have started your baby swim class and I kind of feel you are indifferent about it but you are already kicking on your stomach and back.  We went under last week and while you did not like it, you did not cry.  

This month was a busy month…

With our trip to Clemson….

Our first little cold…. (It was bound to happen!)

Yes despite your cold you were still a rock star!

Our First Halloween…..

Our first trip to the Cabin in NC with Granny and Grampy

All in all it was a really good month...

Next up Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween from our COL-LION

If you would have asked me a year ago what Collin would be for Halloween you could probably have  guessed my answer..... A Clemson Tiger. 

But then this little boy was born and over the first couple of months our first nick named developed while spelling Collin's name everyday for him.

He quickly became our C-O-L-LION

So I found an Lion outfit on Amazon, and placed it in my basket.  

Starting at $35 dollars-

I watched it and watched it until it dropped to $22.

I quickly purchased it with some remaining Baby Amazon Gift Cards that we had.

Yes I know this was a splurge... but I would do it again.

Collin ended up wear his costume multiple times. 

The first was at his school the Friday before Halloween.   This was the night he caught his first cold and was not feeling well.

= FAIL

The second was actually on Halloween.

My parents came over and we went by our friends house and "Trick or Treated" at a couple of houses.

He slowly started warming up to the outfit.

The third time was a day I invited all my neighborhood mom's over for a play date.  

This was a blast and trying to get a group shot was absolutely fun!

Ha ha you have to love children.  

And yes that is a new playroom for Collin- more to come on that later.

The the weekend after Halloween my hubby decided to take a couple shots while I was out with my girlfriend.  

Lion, Tiger and Bears

Oh MY!

I loved his costume and am so glad it worked out.....

We had a very good and happy 1st Halloween.