Look at Me!

Colin must have gotten the memo that he is now 6 months old... so he should be sitting up!

Here he is!

He is very wobbly and isn't up for long, but he is getting the hang of it fast.

6 Months!

Today, Colin is 6 months old!

It has been an exciting month for Colin.

Here are some of his highlights...

• Colin got his bottom 2 teeth (you can see them peaking through in this picture!). They came just days after he turned 5 months. Ironically, both Natalie and Sadie got thier bottom teeth just days after they turned 5 months old too! His smile is even more cuter with those teeth.


• Colin is again sleeping through the night. I was all prepared for having him "cry it out," but he must have heard me talking because he started sleeping through the night the very day I was planning to let him cry. I think it had a lot to do with increasing his daytime bottles to 8 oz and giving him a bottle (rather than mommy) before bed. A full belly is quite nice.


• Although it is not something he does often, he can and has rolled over.


• Colin is loving the jumper. He can literally spend hours a day in that jumping and smiling.


• He is doing this super cute nose scrunch when he smiles big.


• Colin is just starting to enjoy some food. I started giving him cereal a little over a week ago - it was fun and frustrating to watch him figure it out. For a while, he was so confused by it. Just looking at me and the spoon with a look on his face like, "why are you pushing that spoon at me?" Just over the last couple days, he has figured it out and we can't get it in him fast enough. He has only tried bananas, but more will come soon!

Time is flying by and can't wait to watch him grow with love over the next month and the many more to come!

Addition Update

It's a big project, with a big and exciting outcome...

However, it has been a slow moving project - always due to issues that Nick could not and can not control. First, it took forever to get the foundation work done. The concrete work was done as "a friend, of a friend of a friend" kind of thing. That got us a better price, but was done when the workers wanted in between their more important jobs. Once that finally was done (mid July or so), it started raining, and raining and raining. This summer had so much rain. Nick probably spent as much time cleaning up rain water than he did actually building. The next hold up was the inevitable... going back to work. Nick has continued to sneak in hours after work and full days on the weekend, but between work and fatherhood, there is just less time for this "little hobby" of his. Finally, this past weekend, the builder finished the grading and french drain that was put into the ground. The wood stove that was put in the new part of the basement is up and ready to go... just in time for the cold! Firewood is being delivered later this week! Next steps.... vinyl siding back on the house, fireplace installation and then taping inside! I am incredibly impressed by Nick's talent and hard work. I do miss him and his help when he is busy working all the time. In one way, I want the project to be done, but in another way, I just want Nick around more... but I can't have both! Nick needs to be busy in order for it to get done. Thankfully it is all starting to come into place and I am beginning to start thinking about flooring, furniture and decorating! Then Nick and I can sit on a comfy leather couch together, watching a warm fireplace and look out into our beautiful backyard!

Conversation between Dad and Daughter...

Natalie: "Dad, how does the "S" word thing work?"
Nick (as he begins to panic... what "s" word is she talking about and how am I going to explain it): "What do you mean?"
Natalie: "How does it work? Do you suck the bums?"
Nick (now in a true panic wondering what his innocent 6 year old daughter has been exposed to): "What is the "S" word?"
Natalie: "SMOKE."
Nick (in a huge sigh of relief): "Oh you mean cigarette butts!"

Effective Parenting Tool - don't give more information until you clarified what they are truly asking!

Colin's big milestones...

I guess when most of your day includes sleeping, eating, pooping and looking at things... big milestones are all relative. So, in Colin's world - big changes have begun.

Since he will be 6 months old next week, I started introducing rice cereal to him. He is not really much of a fan, but I continue to give it to him nightly. It is really more fun to watch the girls try and "help" him eat. Since he seems to have no idea why I am forcing a foreign object towards his mouth, he tends to lock his lips. Notice Sadie in the below picture trying to show Colin how to open his mouth to eat.
This was the 1st good picture that I got of his new teeth! In the exact same time frame as his sisters, both teeth came within days of him turning 5 months old. (both girls got their bottom teeth just days after they turned 5 months old.... isn't that wild!) They have grown in big enough now that you can see them when he grins. So as Natalie continues to lose her teeth (her 3rd one came out last week), Colin is getting them....
This is just a random picture. Sadie found some old birthday hats in the basement and since they were CARS hats, she was sure that Colin (since he is a boy) would love them. They all put them on and pretended they were at a party. What fun.