14 on the 14th

14 months that is! My little man is getting so big and grown up.

Colton walks with his push toy from one end of the room to the other now. Before he would only walk a few steps with it. He also cruises from the couch to the tv stand to the window and end table in the living room, where he used to only cruise the length of the couch and then plunk down again so he could crawl to where he wanted to go.

His new favorite thing to do is take stuff in and out of something. He loves taking out all of his blocks one by one and then putting them all away, right back in the container. He sometimes "puts back" the books he's taken out and looked at during the day, too. For the past month or so, Colton's morning nap has been getting shorter and shorter until now he just fights it. I'm beginning to think he doesn't need it anymore. That will be a sad, sad day when he goes down to only one nap. Even sadder than him giving up the bottle and binky! He still happily takes a binky at any time though, which I know I have to help him give up in the next few months. :(

Another tooth has come in over the last few weeks, right next to the first one on the bottom. When he smiles or has his mouth open, you can see them clearly. Colton also started drinking from a straw, which wouldn't be a big deal except we had these Munchkin cups for months and he refused to drink out of them until I left his favorite sippy cup behind at the doctor's office in September. I decided to try them again, because the only other sippy we have leaks. It only took him a day to learn how to use the straw and he's never looked back!

October 2008:























October 2009:

A Birthday & An Anniversary

I wanted to give a little shout-out to my great husband, whose birthday is today!!! He turned the ripe old age of 33. Such an old man already. :) This morning I gave Gregg his gift, Season 4 of The Office, because he (and I) loves that show. (By the way, last night's Office Wedding was awesome!) Tonight we're going out to a restaurant of his choosing.

This day also happens to be the anniversary of when I started my blog here on blogger, three years ago. I had a blog over on The Nest since March 2005, but eventually all my fellow Nestie friends jumped ship and went to Blogspot. Caving into pressure, I followed suit. Okay, so not really. I just wanted a pretty new blog!

Colton and I are finally on the mend after being sick for the past two weeks. For the last several days, I lived off of chicken soup and Kleenex. One night, Colton woke up nearly every hour screaming and crying because he was so congested. He's never been up that many times in one night, even when he was a newborn. It was awful. His appetite decreased noticeably while being sick, and I started getting a little worried. But then this morning he ate like 1,000 cheerios and half a banana and last night he polished off several pieces of chicken and handfuls of rice. So I'd say he's feeling better.

On Tuesday I had the car to myself and we went to a MOMS club meeting in the morning, then had lunch at Panera and picked up a few things at BJ's in the afternoon. Colton was really well behaved the whole time. He wouldn't leave my side though at the MOMS group. I tried to encourage him to play with the toys and other kids, but he was having none of it. On Thursday we went to another mom's house for a play date, and it took him a little over an hour before he actually crawled more than five inches away from me. He would freak out if I got up to do anything. I have to say, though, that I am loving my mommies group. It's wonderful to have a cup of coffee with other moms and talk while our kids play (or cling to my leg!) There's a Mom's Night Out at the end of the month I'm really looking forward to.

Gregg and I are also really enjoying the church we've been attending for the last six weeks. The worship is incredible and we can see ourselves forming some good connections there. Last week they had a going away brunch/party for a couple, and we got to fellowship with some people which was nice. This upcoming Sunday, they're doing something called Faith In Action where they cancel their regular worship service and do some work in the community. It should be a great way to meet other people while we serve.

I've been feeling very blessed lately, with these two opportunities to get to know others. Sometimes I am so focused on keeping a home and pouring into my child that I forget how important it is to be in relationship with other people. I've also been trying to work harder on my relationship with God. I think being away from a church to call home for so long has hardened my heart and I've definitely drifted from Him. I read a chapter to Colton each day from his Jesus Storybook Bible, and every time I'm reminded of how much He loves me and that there is purpose in life. I love this book because it's written simply for children, yet it doesn't water down the Gospel. I know that it's also over Colton's head at this age, but it's never too early to start speaking God's truth into his life. Part of my role as a mother is to teach my children that there is a God who loves them and rescued them.