Day 341

 Colton was busy today, returning to his hectic weekday schedule with a trip to the babysitter's house and then to the JCC.  Dad was busy attending the annual sports banquet, so Colton spent the evening alone with mom.  He loved his mac and cheese dinner, and then made another attempt at drinking from a cup.  It started off well with him devouring an ounce of milk before totally getting sick of the thing...oh well, we'll keep trying.  Colton is also this close to walking...mom predicts he will take that first step within the week, but we'll see!  Oh, and still no 11 month picture...wiggle worm is just not feeling it this month, but we'll give it another go tomorrow!

Day 340

Colton spent his day with mom today while Dad was out golfing (yes, he recovered miraculously from yesterday's bout with food poisoning).  Colton was a good boy as he ran errands with mom.  At night, he joined mom and dad for dinner at Bubba's.  He made good friends there with some nice elderly people dining next to him.  On a side note, mom has not forgotten about Colton's 11 month picture (due yesterday if you did not notice)...Colton has become increasingly wiggly each month and has not been very cooperative with actually staying in the chair as mom tries to take the picture...we'll try again tomorrow!

Days 338 and 339

Sorry for no post yesterday...mom was busy spending her entire Saturday morning at the DMV, partly her own fault, so she was not able to type.  Colton stayed home with dad while mom tending to her license renewal.  On Friday, he came home from his day at the babysitter's to join mom and dad for dinner at the Wild Wing.  He was pleasantly surprised when Uncle Ryan and Aunt KC, along with Aunt KC's sister Liz and her boyfriend, Josh, (good name, huh?) visiting from Rochester decided to join him.  Colton loves himself a pretty girl and took to Liz immediately:

 On Saturday afternoon, Colton went to the ODU basketball game with mom and dad.  Unfortunately, dad got sick right before the game started and he had to leave.  Mom and Colton drove back to Norfolk to join everyone for dinner after the game, though.

Day 337

Colton had a short day at the babysitter's house, as Meme picked him up right after his morning nap.  Instead of spending the day with his friends, he spent the day at the rug store with Meme and Papa.  Supposedly, he was quite the hit there...they even suggested Colton should be in commercials (hmmm?!?).  Mom picked Colton up after her doctor's appointment and brought Colton home to join dad for dinner at Outback. 

Day 336

Colton spent today like many others: first at the babysitter's house and then to the JCC before coming home to play.  He did give mom quite a scare as he legitimately choked on his little goldfish crackers (shortly after this picture was taken), but we survived and learned the important lesson of chewing. 

Day 335

Well, it was back to the grind for Colton today as he was back to the babysitter's house bright and early this morning.  They reported that he was eager to stand up and walk around today, and he continued the trend once he got home.  Colton has gotten quite skilled at walking with assistance (mom/dad's hands, furniture, his walker, etc), but still seems to have zero interest in trying it on his own, although we are confident it is coming pretty soon.  Colton is also extra talkative and playful these days...one of his favorite activities seems to be feeding his food to his brother, something we are trying (unsucessfully) to discourage.

Day 334

Colton was happy to have today off to honor his past presidents, but clearly did not get the memo once again about sleeping a little later on these holidays (6:15?!?).  Oh well...that just gave him more time to run some errands with mom and spend time playing.  He was a good sport while out shopping and was very pleased that mom decided to pick him up some goodies while out.  Another highlight of the day was when mom was busy reading him his good night story.  Tonight's choice was 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, which we have read several times.  Tonight, though, Colton seemed to really get a kick out of mom's deep voice as the doctor...he giggled each time...so cute! 

Day 333

Another day full of activity for baby boy!  Today, he joined mom, dad, Meme, Papa, and all the other ODU fans at the basketball game.  It was a big game for the Monarchs, and Colton was happy to be able to show off his new clapping skills at the game.  His cheering must have worked as ODU pulled of the big win.  After the game, he joined everyone at Cogan's Pizza.  After a marathon dinner, which Colton was a major trooper through, he was happy to get home and relax.

Day 332

Colton had a wonderful Saturday.  He spent his morning hanging out with his dad while mom went and got her hair done.  Once she was back, the whole family ventured out to the zoo for Colton's first trip.  He seemed to like the monkeys the best, with the giraffes following in a close second.  At night, he joined mom and dad for dinner at Zia Maries.  He received tons of compliments there, with multiple people saying he looked like one of the ETrade babies...hmmm...new career maybe?:)

Day 331

With temperatures near 80 degrees tooday (!), Colton had a fantastic Friday.  He played outside while at the babysitter's house and then came home to do the same thing with mom and Chipper.  Once dad got home, he ventured out to dinner at Finn McCool's and was so excited to get to sit outside. 

Day 330

Mom had to get a new id badge for school this morning, so Colton was supposed to get to sleep in...unfortunately, he didn't seem to get that message and was up at his bright and normal time.  Oh well, huh...he did get to go with mom and even stopped at the car wash on the way, which totally freaked the poor little man out.  After spending the rest of his day at the babysitter's house, he went by Meme and Papa's house to check out their moving progress.  Once he confirmed all was well and played a little in the new house, he headed home to join mom and dad for some Mexican. 

Day 329

Colton had a normal day, but was excited that the weather around here has finally broken away from bitter cold for awhile and was a pleasant 60ish today.  That meant that Colton got to take his brother for a nice, long walk once he got home and then played with him out back for awhile.  Mom seized the opportunity for an impromptu photo shoot, and because as usual, there were too many cute shots to choose from, here they are:

Day 328

Today was a fairly routine day for Colton.  He spent his day at the babysitter's house and then came home with mom to play for the afternoon.  Dad wanted Wild Wing for dinner tonight, so Colton obliged and headed out.  He loved his mac and cheese, and enjoyed hamming it up for his Aunt Stephanie and the waitresses.  After dinner, Colton tried his first frozen yogurt treat at the Skinny Dip...let's just say, I think baby boy is going to inherit his mom's love for ice cream!

Day 327

 Happy Valentine's Day from Colton:)  He thoroughly enjoyed his first chance to celebrate the holiday.  The babysitters reported that he must have been in full holiday spirit, as he managed to give the new baby (boy, mind you) a big kiss right on the lips...he has become quite fond of kissing lately, but I guess there are still a few things he needs to learn!  Once home, he was really excited to have a nice present waiting for him in the mail from his Aunt Debbie and Uncle Tony.  Colton was also excited to join his mom and dad for Valentine's dinner of steak and broccoli.  While he couldn't eat the steak, he loved, loved, loved his broccoli (well, at least the cheese sauce on it) and was kind enough to share some with his brother.

Days 325 and 326

Whew...Colton sure had a busy weekend.  Saturday morning he started off bright and early with mom to get himself some new shoes.  Poor guy...mom had been cramming his poor foot into size 2s for quite some time, but turns out little man needs a 3.5!  No worries...Colton got two pairs, including a super cute pair of Sperrys for the spring:)  In the afternoon, he went out to his friend Savannah's (mom's friend Katie's daughter) 1st birthday.  He loved the party and was a very good boy there.  At night, he joined mom and dad for dinner out before coming home to zonk out!  On Sunday, he started off by joining mom and dad for breakfast at the Broken Egg.  Afterwards, he joined mom and dad in running some errands and even stopped by his great-grandparents' house for a visit.  At night, he met Meme and Papa for dinner  (and to get his Valentine's Day present) and then a quick visit to Meme and Papa's soon-to-be-new house.  Once home, he was more than ready to hit the sack and get ready for the long week ahead

Day 324

clearly it's time to whip out the cabinet locks

Colton had a fantastic Friday.  He returned to the babysitter's house after the snow day and had a good time playing with all his friends there.  At night, he joined mom and dad out for dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse and thoroughly enjoyed his chicken fingers, baked potato, and orange slices...I'm telling you this boy has an appetite these days!

Day 323

Woohoo!  Colton woke up again today to another snow day!  He was so excited, but hopefully one of these times, he will realize that snow days are for sleeping in, not waking up at 5:30.  Either way, he had a fun day with mom and was even able to get out and run some errands.  The snow must have also made Colton especially hungry, as he absolutely devoured a yogurt, cheese sandwich, two jars of Cheerios, some chocolate pudding, and tons of Cheerios!  Hence the belly you see in this picture...

Day 322

Well, we think today was a big day around here.  Mom and dad are pretty sure Colton said his first word today.  To explain, he has been babbling sounds for a few weeks now: lots of da-das, ma-mamas, ba-bas, you get the idea.  But tonight, as mom was chaning him into his pajamas after his bath, dad came into the room...Colton looked right at him, and said "dada" with a huge smile on his face.  Whether he truly knew what he was saying or not I guess we will never know, but we're marking it as his first word:)

Day 321

 Yep...definitely settled back into our daily routine.  Colton was up and at em nice and early this morning before heading to the babysitter's house for the day.  Once home, he had a great time playing, especially practicing his walking on his dinosaur toy.  Mom had actually gotten the toy for him while he was sick, so it hasn't seen much work, but we have a feeling it's about to now!

Day 319 and 320

Well, yesterday was obviously a little disappointing for baby boy.  After spending the afternoon at a pregame lunch with fellow Steeler fans, Colton headed back to Meme and Papa's house to watch the big game.  Although the Steelers did not pull off the victory, Colton was really excited at how far they got in his rookie season and is super excited to watch them for many years to come.  Today was a much more regular day, although after a couple of weeks of abnormal, it was actually kindof nice to get back in the routine.  Colton headed to the babysitter's house and then to the JCC before heading home to practice a couple of his new favorite activities: feeding himself with his spoon and delivering "kisses" (usually accompanied by nibbles and licks...he'll learn!)

Day 318

Well, baby boy has certainly recovered from his bout with the flu and strep.  On its heels, he is in a really energetic mood and is eating like a horse.  At dinner, he managed to devour all three of his chicken fingers and an order of macaronni and cheese.  Colton has been such a happy, happy baby the last few days, which is so nice to see after seeing the exact opposite for quite a few days. 

Day 317

Colton was surprised with a special treat today: Aunt Genna had spent the night, so instead of having to go to the babysitter's house, he got to spend his morning at home playing with her and Chipper.  Around lunchtime, Aunt Genna took him to meet Meme and Papa at mom's classroom for her students' Steelers pep rally party.  As always, the first graders were enamored with Colton and he loved all of their attention. 

Days 315 and 316

Well, Colton is officially better!!!  After spending yesterday at Meme and Papa's house, Colton returned to the babysitter's house today.  He was just fine, although still crazy hungry.  In fact for dinner, he managed to scarf down a cheese risotto and vegetables, a cheese quesadilla, some mums, and some puffs at dinner. 

Day 314

Hallelujah...although type this while attempting to cross my fingers at the same time, we now think Colton has finally kicked the ickies out of his little body.  He seems to be back to his normal peppy self, has the appetite of a teenage boy, and hasn't had a nasty diaper in 24+ hours...YAY!!!  Colton spent his day at home with his grandmother while supervising the installation of his new carpet (another YAY!).