One of Those Weekend Reviews

Thought I would give a quick update. We had a nice Fourth of July weekend, enjoying the usual picnic fare. On the 5th, we went back to my BIL and SIL's in the afternoon for leftovers and tried to get the condo a little more organized when we came home. In the evening we went to Walmart to buy some necessities.

We are very happy with our new place. Gregg moved a lot of stuff into storage, so now we can finally see the living room! On Monday I unpacked the living room boxes and arranged everything the way I wanted. The rest of this week I worked on cleaning. There's still some stuff that isn't put away yet, but it finally feels like home.

Colton's doing really well. I cannot believe the little guy will be 11 months old on Tuesday!! Only five more weeks until he officially becomes a toddler. He's already starting to let that toddler temper show- oy. We've decided to have his birthday party on the 16th of August, which is a Sunday, and just send Evites to everyone. There's no specific theme planned, but I'd like to get a Winnie the Pooh character cake since that's what his room is decorated with. We hope to be able to have the party outside if it's not too ridiculously hot and doesn't rain.

It just blows my mind that Colton is this old already. At this time last year, I was hugely pregnant and very uncomfortable, tyring to beat the heat by drinking 52 oz. of water a day. I was also stressed about everything we had to do and buy for the baby, but so eager for his arrival. I did my best to prepare for what would be my biggest life altering change to date. Once he was born, I quickly realized I was completely and totally unprepared for him. This past year has definitely been the most challenging and character-building as I've tried to find my way as a new mom. I'll post more of my reflections on Colton's first twelve months as it gets closer to his birthday, but for now here are a few pictures from our July 4th weekend:


Coltie with his cousin Katelyn


Having fun in Kate's swing


Two peas in a pod

Memorial Day Weekend

Our holiday weekend started out with Gregg's family reunion on Saturday. Relatives came from different parts of the country to New Jersey for a day of fun, food, and catching up. The reunion was held at an aunt and uncle's home in Northern NJ. Rain had been forecasted all week, but by Friday it looked like we were actually going to have nice sunny weather.

When we arrived, we received goodie bags with the particular color t-shirt that designated which generation we're in. Colton was instantly snatched up by one of Gregg's cousin's wives and introduced to everybody. There were games for the kids and adults, prizes, and enough food to feed another entire family. The rain held out until just after we got through dinner, when we all gathered in the garage for a slideshow of photos showing the four generations of family members.

I'll admit, I was expecting the event to be somewhat boring and I was nervous about how Colton would do being out for that many hours, but we all had a great time. I had already met most of Gregg's relatives on his father's side and it was nice to see them again, as well as meet some others for the first time. One thing I've always appreciated about my husband's family is that they are so welcoming and I have never felt like an outsider. I'm treated as part of the family, instead of just someone who married in.

Throughout the day, I had people willing to help me with Colton or hold him for a little while so I could eat or do something else. And he was just fine the whole time. He hardly made a peep and took two naps, one in a pack 'n play in the back bedroom and the other in his daddy's arms. Whatever I forgot to bring, I was able to borrow from somebody else since two of Gregg's cousins have babies that are close to Colton's age. The babies took turns using a high chair, monitor, and toys. In the evening as things were winding down, I changed Coltie into his jammies and he was asleep just a few minutes after we got him in the car.

The next day, we hung out with the other side of Gregg's family for our niece's 2nd birthday party. Colton woke up at 6:45 that morning, apparently missing the memo that Mommy wanted to sleep in! I stumbled out of bed, made a bottle, fed him and changed him. Then I brought him into our bed and we all fell asleep for the next hour. A few hours later we got ready for the party. We stopped at Target along the way to pick up a gift and arrived ten minutes before it started.

I didn't have a very good time there since it started raining just as we began eating, and Colton was super crabby because his whole schedule was thrown off and I had to wake him up from his nap so we could make it to the party on time. He didn't appreciate being passed around like a bag of chips, either. After eating, Gregg brought him into the house away from all the noise and he was fine playing on the living room floor until it was time for Katelyn to open her presents. During present time, Colton thankfully fell asleep in his stroller. He was still cranky even after the short nap and drinking a bottle, so I suggested leaving as soon as we could get our stuff together.

On Monday we slept in until almost 8 and kept Colton home so that he could get back on his regular schedule and have the naps he needed. Gregg went out for a couple of hours to look at a few apartments, since we plan on moving again within the next month. (Oh, joy!) He came back bearing ice cream for the two of us. After we ate lunch, Gregg ran out again to his brother's house to pick up something he left there at the party. I put Colton down for his afternoon nap and spent some time online. When Gregg came home, the three of us had our own little barbeque and ate outside.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I enjoyed being able to get out of the house and have real grown-up conversations! Gregg is back at work today and this week should fly by because he only has four days left now. Then on Saturday, my mother-in-law is taking Colton for a few hours so we can actually go on a date! I am so looking forward to that. I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend. :)

Here are some pictures from the reunion:


Our branch of the family tree (from L to R): Me holding Colton, Gregg, Gregg's mom Lynn, his dad Bill, sister Lori, brother Jeff and his wife Liz with their daughter Katelyn.


Our baby wrapped in toilet paper (it was for one of the games- he had a blast playing with it).


Colton looks as if he's plotting to escape the reunion with his hands clasped together like that.


The poor little guy was all tuckered out towards the end.

The Holidays Are Upon Us

It's been FREEZING here the past couple of days and my favorite radio station has switched over to playing all Christmas music all the time. Yes, that most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner.

We're going to skip the family fanfare at least for Thanksgiving and just enjoy a day off, getting up late and watching the parade on tv, then going to Cracker Barrel like we have the past two years. I wasn't much into the holiday spirit, until it snowed this past Friday. Then all of a sudden, I had to start listening to Christmas songs and mentally devising the family gift list. I am excited for our first Christmas with Colton, even though he can't open his own presents yet. I'm sure we'll take a ton of photos in the month of December alone of him by the tree and in his cute little festive outfits.

I know that everyone is going to want to see Colton around Christmas, and while I do want to show him off, I also don't want to drag him all over the world just so that he can be paraded around. He was one crabby baby the weekend we went up to Jersey at the end of October because we kept interrupting nap time to see yet another person. It's going to be hard to stick to a schedule when we visit family for Christmas, but we're going to try our best.

Colton has been adding some new tricks to his bag lately. He is now blowing bubbles and babbling up a storm! It is so cute hearing him carrying on to himself in his crib before I get out of bed in the morning. And he laughs, too. It is hysterical listening to him do it. Usually, it's his dad that gets him going. Colton's face will light up when he sees Gregg, and he is ready for playtime. He now smiles on his own without any prompting from us. It is the best feeling in the world when my baby boy flashes me a toothless grin, for no other reason than he knows I'm his mommy. We've been adding a little bit of rice cereal to his formula the past couple of days, since he was getting hungry in between feedings. He's been doing great with it, and it looks like we may actually be able to eliminate a feeding or two.

He's still sleeping through the night and not waking up until about 6:30 or 7:00. Sometimes he'll wake up in the middle of the night and fuss for a while, but eventually he soothes himself back to sleep. Colton has started imitating me and Gregg, also. If we make certain sounds or stick out our tongues, he does it too! It is amazing how much he processes now. He's such a fun little guy.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!!






Having a good time with Daddy









Trying to eat his hand