Colton at 11 months!

Getting ready for his dare devil slide stunts!!
Got in my purse for a cold one :-)
watched the entire A Christmas Carol

...have more pictures of Colton watching TV than anything else. I think I am just amazed that he will sit still and I have to just capture it!

discovered Sprout TV and LOVED it

real men have fake tattoos and band-aids

in TX he slept with his arms like this a lot. must have liked your room Aunt Candy

totally bit me hard - you can see all 6 teeth here...

now that's just cute!

LOVES letters and sounds

playing in puddles

looks like such a grown up stud here

TOTALLY veggin' here w/ mom

TV face - classic!

this didn't even get all of his bruises. he had like 11 at one time. he is in to EVERYTHING he can. can't look away for a second!

mom and Colton at Ole Miss tailgating - way fun!

Colton and Dusty at the Biology tent - those bio nerds know how to party...no really they do. it's awesome!

Colton and Daddy

...and he's off

exploring, what else?

loves when daddy makes smoothies

now he looks like he had a full day!

In just a few weeks Colton will be one. WOW is all I have to say. I am learning things everyday that push me to grow, love, cherish and prioritize...really prioritize; and I work on that everyday.

We just got back from Texas spending Thanksgiving with Dusty's family. We had a lot of fun and Colton didn't disappoint showing off :-) He was teething during the trip and it has finally popped through so he has 7 teeth now. 4 on top, 3 on bottom. And he knows how to use them too :-) He still bites me all of the time. He doesn't really bite many other people, oh and he has taken to chewing on girls hair. AND he got his first band-aid moment in Texas and fell and scratched his knee pretty bad - I felt like a real mom.

Some words he can say off and on are mama (sometimes mimi), dadee, dada, baby, wow, cool, and fish :-)

One of my new favs this month is he is wrapping his arms around my neck and giving me hugs, playing with my hair with his arms around my neck, he backs up to sit in my lap, he lets me read to him more and he is climbing everything he can.

We stopped at a mall to let him get the wiggles out on the drive back and there was a kid play area. Oh.My.Gosh. He had SO much freakin' fun it's ridiculous. We were there for at least 30 mins of non stop play and he cried when we left. OK. Check it. There was a slide that the big kids were sliding down and Colton kept trying to get in front of it and climb up it.

So I got him up the stairs of the slide and didn't slide down because it was too small for the both of us and too "big" for him and I couldn't hold him on the way down because it was like a beehive shape or something. Anyway, he started to climb straight up the steps / ladder of the slide by himself. He went headfirst, butt first, upside down...you name it and had a ball doing it!! He would laugh the whole way down and get up and do it again. Checkout the video on fb or youtube (coming soon). It's priceless.

Colton at 10 months!

Well this is late but whatever...Colton knows why it's late. :-) He's the one keeping me busy!

As you all know Colton starting walking at 9.5 months and he hasn't slowed down. He still loves watching TV (I know, I know) and he has started to interact with the shows he watches. It's so cute. At 10 months Colton still had 6 teeth, wearing 12 month clothes and size 3 and 4 shoes. (IF I get them on him) Diaper changes and clothes changes can't be over soon enough for the both of us. I actually had my dad video tape a diaper change because it's just absolutely ridiculous how much he HATES them and getting clothes on; diaper changes are worse though. Yes, I have tried every trick in the book...he just doesn't want to stop doing what he is doing to get 'er done. I want to cry if he poops in public and I have to change a diaper by myself. He sits straight up, screams, rolls, arches, grabs the poop......I just don't even know what to do. I always say, "Quick is the word and sharps the action." (from Master and Commander) with a smile on my face to try and make it pleasant but it goes the same every time.

Colton's personality is BIG and FLASHY and GO GO GO, non-stop, wants FUN, loves learning, he's a touchy-feeling baby who loves to be played with, held (on his terms of course), only gives kisses to the lucky few, is starting to wave bye-bye, wants to get down and help me push the cart at the grocery (did I mention he's 10 months???), and not only climbs on the dishwasher but now starts it all of the time...dirty or not. I don't see a way to cover the button...

Your big day to 1 year old is fast approaching, Colton. Thank you for the wonderful ride full of happiness and growth for our whole family. I miss you when you are sleeping and can't wait for you to wake up so I can see you and start new adventures each day!

Colton at 9 months!

It just keeps getting better. Each age definately comes with its own set of challenges but the love I feel for my family and my little guy is so worth it. I always knew I wanted to be a mother and desired greatly to have children. I feel so blessed to know that this is just the beginning. Granted, I wil not have 10 kids unless I have to adopt all of my nieces and nephews after a tragic accident or something, but to know that this is just the beginning to a life with my family is pretty awesome.

One cool thing is that he plays more independently :-) which is great for a work-at-home mommy. We have playdates all of the time here with friends and are still settling in but will have a great little home here real soon. I can't believe where life takes you as you do your best to reach for more and trust in the Spirit.

Some things that Colton has liked to do this month are:

• climb in/on anything
• shut doors
• follow you to the bathroom and bang on the door till you open or stand there till you are done
• swing at the park (1.5 hours last week)
• play peek-a-boo
• eat more finger foods (LOVES Olive Garden's breadsticks :-) and is a bread snatcher. If you have some in your hands and Colton is near, it's his...
• smile and laugh
• won't take a a pacifier anymore really - got sick and couldn't breathe through his nose and since then doesn't really take to it
• has been taking ONE NAP during day....are you kidding me? When I just put him in his crib he usually just cries or maybe falls asleep. I sure hope this is a phase...
• loves to go on walks and play outside
• he is loves to open cabinets, get into the crackers and animal cookies and make messes wherever possible
• BITES EVERYTHING including mommy all the time
• yeah and SILENCE = BAD NEWS!

Oh how life wouldn't be the same withouth him! :-)

Colton at 8 months!

It hasn't been that long since I have blogged. has it? Well, I do have a good excuse. Our little family has moved from Utah to Mississippi while Dusty attends Ole Miss pursuing his PhD in biology. We have loved our new place (minus all of the BUGS...well, actually Dusty loves that!). Colton and I got to spend a week + at Grammy and Grandad's and play with his cousins and have a great time! Every single day he was doing something new. He was such a fun little guy but he did have a few hard days of teething. His top 2 teeth came in while we were there and it really hurt him. But he did create a new little smile (probably because of his swollen gums) where he scrunched up his face like a pig to smile. It was SO cute!

Of course we had a blast. It was like one day he was standing up a lot holding on to stuff, the next day he was standing with no hands, cruising across the couch etc. He did NOT want to go to sleep when everyone was up...especially the night we had a sleep over with Blake and Eli. He refused and when I took him out of the room he wanted down and crawled so fast over to the boys on the air mattress and played till 1 am!! It was so cute!!

He started to eat chunky foods, stand, cruise, crawl FAST, really mimic you, click his tongue, takes baths sitting up, loves to play games and be tickled....I can't even remember everything. It was just a whirlwind of things that he did new everyday. No wonder everybody tells you to write things down. I always gave my mom flack for not remembering stuff but now I understand what sleep deprivation can do to you. And she must not have remembered because she did it 5 times!

It is such a joy to have Colton in our family. His energy is contagious! I love his laugh, his energy, his NEED for fun :-), his decision making skills - he knows what he wants; we'll leave it at that!, he LOVES to be with people and play with kids. I think he is going to be a great helper! He always wants to be right where I am and doing what I do. He loves to go outside and on walks, in stores or out to eat. We already have a few out to eat stories that are pure comedy....

We love you, Colton! Happy 8 months!