One Year!

 *You weigh 18 lbs and 12 oz. You mostly wear 6 month clothes, and you are still in size 3 diapers.

*You are starting to eat more and more table food. You love mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, any kind of bean or pea, noodles, mac and cheese, and saltine crackers. Your little face just lights up when you see a cracker! Mommy tried to give you scrambled eggs the other morning and you made the most AWFUL face when you tasted them. We are going to keep trying though!

Mema and Pa feeding you.

*You have officially been bottle free for 3 weeks. During the day you get sippy cups with either whole milk or water. Mommy nurses you in the mornings and at night.

*You sleep from about 7:30 p.m. until about 6 am, and take one nap a day from 12-2 (ish).

*Your favorite toys are cell phones, remote controls, and anything of Kyndalls. She is wonderful about sharing her toys with you.

*You are the definition of a “momma’s boy”. I’m not going to lie. I LOVE it! It sure does hurt daddy’s feelings though! I know it won’t last forever, there will come a day when Mom just won’t be as cool as Dad. But for now, I’m enjoying every second of this attachment.

*Mommy and Daddy haven’t seen you stand up by yourself and balance, however, your Pa and LeLe have seen you a few times! Your hands always go straight up in the air!

*You are a little charmer. You love to shrug your shoulders and smile really big when people say hello to you. It is precious.

*You have FIVE teeth. Two on the bottom, and three on top.

*You will say "Dada" all day long, but very rarely do we get a "Mama." That just makes them that much more special!

*You still absolutely LOVE taking baths! You like to sit in your bathtub and put your hand under the faucet. While you are taking a bath, Mommy will hold up your wash cloth and let the stream of water fall. You always try to grab the stream of water. You never get frustrated. You always laugh so hard when your fingers can’t grab it.

Yes, you are taking a bath on a Dora bathmat. This was at Pa and LeLe's house. You and Kyndall love taking baths together. Sweet kiddos!

*You are pulling up on EVERYTHING. You will walk down the couch, around anything. As long as you can hold on you will walk around.

*You can clap, nod yes, and shake your head no.

Mommy LOVES this picture of you and Kyndall.

*You love to laugh at Kyndall. Several times over the last month we have put your car seat in the back by Kyndall. You two will laugh the whole time we are in the car. I love it!!!

Sweet hugs for Kyndall Grace

Bear,

How are you already a year old? You are growing up so fast. You are so much fun. I cherish every second of time I have with you. I love our morning cuddle time. My favorite thing is probably when I pick you up from daycare and your face lights up when you see me walk in. I love you so much Collin. I can’t believe you are one. You are such a sweet boy!

Love,
Mommy

Seeing Santa

Last year Collin was WAY too little to have his picture taken with Santa. He was only a few weeks old. The trip to Little Rock was just too much.

This year however... He LOVED Santa!

Also, this year Collin's daycare took some Christmas pictures of him. We had the option of putting Kyndall and Collin together for some pictures. I'm so glad they go to the same daycare!! These are pictures of pictures... so the quality isn't that great. I just didn't want to wait to post these! :)

I'm looking forward to his birthday TOMORROW!! Holy Moly. How do I have a year old baby! He's so big!

Collin's First Thanksgiving!

We are so VERY Thankful.

This was Collin’s very first Thanksgiving. It sure was busy, but very fun and filled with family.

Our day started at 11:00am at my parent’s house (Pa and Lele). We had a great lunch there. It was just my parents, my sister, Kyndall, Eric, Collin, and me.

My parents had already put out Santa and "Crosty" aka Frosty in their yard. Kyndall still has a hard time with her "F's"! :) Collin and Kyndall loved to sit at the window and look at them.

We couldn’t stay long… we had to be in Hot Springs by 2 for meal #2! Eric’s grandparents always do such a wonderful job with all the food! It’s nice to get to see them.

And once again… we were off. We had meal #3 in Arkadelphia with my extended family at 4:00!

Collin was so full he had to unbutton his shirt! Ha! He was excited Kyndall was in Arkadelphia too!

Wow. We were so full, cranky, and tired.

As we were coming back through Benton, we dropped Eric off at his brother’s house. It just so happens, that Brock’s birthday was on Thanksgiving this year! Eric wanted to spend a little extra time with him so he spent the night in Benton.

Collin and I were MORE than ready to be at home and in the bed.

As crazy as it was… I wouldn’t change a thing. We visited with everyone and got to spend time as a family too. I really couldn’t be more blessed.

Too Much Turkey Mom!

Halloween 2011

So, I am playing catch-up. I can't believe I let the whole month of November pass without blogging at all. We are busy around here chasing a sweet baby boy! :)
Speaking of that baby boy...

We had a wonderful Halloween. Little man was a pumpkin! He was precious.

Collin made this at day care. That's his little foot!

Kyndall was Minnie Mouse. :)

My little pumpkin

We went trick-or-treating around my parents neighborhood before going by my Aunt Jana's house. That was pretty much all Collin could handle. He was ready for bed! Next year hopefully we will be able to stay out a bit longer.

It was a great night.

Aunt Tori

Dear Collin,

Your Aunt Tori was chosen to be on the Homecoming Court at her school Harmony Grove. Aunt Tori was the ONLY eighth grader chosen!! It was a huge deal!
They had to ceremony on Veterans Day weekend. Daddy and I were both off work that Friday so we were excited to be able to go watch her! Actually, LOTS of Daddy's side of the family was there.
Aunt Tori couldn't win Queen because she is only in the eighth grade but she was GORGEOUS! We are so very proud of her.
Love you,

Mommy

P.S.- Your Aunt Tori loves you so much! I can't wait until we live closer to her.

Mommy and Daddy waiting on it to start!

Afterwards... Collin, next time make sure to look at the camera! :)

Her escorts! One of the guys is her boyfriend. Daddy doesn't like is "baby" sister having a boyfriend!

Collin and Daddy

Gorgeous Aunt Tori!

11 Months (11-7-11)

I’m VERY late posting this. It’s been written for a while, but not posted.

*Collin Bear, you are on the move! You will crawl anywhere we will let you.

*Your sweet open mouth kisses are the greatest things I’ve ever had. I hope you never grow out of that! You are so lovey. You make Mommy SO happy!

*Pulling up on things is easy for you and you love to stand up and bounce. Mommy and Daddy call it your “dance moves”!

*You have 3 teeth now...two on the bottom, one on top. You are SO close to getting the second one on the top!

*You still sleep okay at night. Mommy has been trying to keep you awake until 7:30pm. If you stay up until then (that’s a BIG “if”) you sleep much better at night. However, if you fall asleep before then we can pretty much guarantee you are up at least once that night.

*You take 1 nap a day. Mommy wishes it was two naps. You moved up to the “Infant 2” room at daycare. They only have one time for naps (12-2) so that is when you nap! On the weekends though, you take a morning nap and an afternoon nap.

*You sleep in your crib every night (at least part of the night). When mommy comes into get you, you will be standing up just smiling at me.

*You are still eating that baby food like crazy! You are still nursing every morning and night. You aren’t taking bottles very well at daycare during the day. Mommy is considering giving you milk very soon!

*You love to play with Kyndall. You two are the sweetest kids ever!

*You are still in size 3 diapers and are wearing 6-9 month clothes!

Daddy, Collin, and Uncle Brock

*You started clapping by yourself a few weeks ago. It is precious! You also shake your head “no” when someone does it to you. I just hope you don’t start saying “no” with it!

*You can say… Ma-Ma, Da-Da, and Bye.

*You still love bath time. When we are over at Pa and Lele’s house in the evening, you will take your bath with Kyndall. She loves to be a helper and give you the toys in the bath.

Bear,
I love you so so much! You are so much fun! I can’t believe you are almost one year old. I can’t imagine life without you. You are so sweet. I love every second with you!

I love you.
Mommy