Catching up in pictures!

It's been a week of not stopping here. Glad to slow down this weekend and Derek's finally home. We had some fun, most of which I forgot to photograph, and lots of errands for his birthday and such. Colin's getting so big and close to walking. Probably another month away though. We're about to go to 1 nap a day which should be nice. He had another bottom tooth poke through today so that's a total of 7 now! He's also down to just bottles in the morning and bedtime. The other 2 times it's cold in a sippy cup with lunch and dinner. Watch out 1s, Colin is almost ready!!

Loving his new dino rocker!

 



All about sitting on my lap these days. Big guy plays so hard he has been falling asleep at night when I burp him :)

Colin and I hit up his school's book fair this week and donated some books to his class



They had all the babies pictures on the wall for Halloween! I don't know how they fit his chubby legs in that Bumbo seat!

Man  has another cold this weekend and we've been lounging and watching the baby channel (new favorite right now!)

   Zoo fun!!

 

                                 Black bear! He grew tired of us and started showing his teeth!

        Watching Tech play last night....2nd loss in a row. Noah's crew came over and TN lost too :(

Cheese!!

Derek's had a long string of shifts so Colin and I went to Huntsville to visit! I hate I didn't take enough pictures, we had a full agenda and didn't stop. Mr. C is a big cheesy smiling boy these days and I love it. 

Loving food as usual, haha. Showing off those 6 big teeth!

 

We went to eat at Connor's with the Patterson family. Mamaw and all the aunts came for a visit and so did Jess. It was a delicious meal! Sunday morning we went back over to play and Colin got a few surprise birthday presents from them. He was a little timid opening them but enjoyed them all so much! It was fun to watch him :) It was so sweet of them too, I wish I had taken more pictures with them!

 

A little blurry, but you can see his little curious mind at work!

He's a super loved baby/almost 1 year old!

 

I ran some errands with my parents and then we relaxed all evening at the house. It was a nice trip and Colin was good the whole time, yay :) Some days your parents make everything better...mine are really my biggest cheerleaders. I've been in a bummed out mood lately and they definitely pepped me up. I have such an open relationship with my parents and I hope that I have that with Colin one day...even the tough love part ;) Thanks dad and mom! Love this picture of when ya'll were 19, you look the same (minus a little hair dad)!!

 

 

We rushed back to see Derek today and had a great dinner at Seth and Jess's house! 3 more night shifts then Derek's off 10 days. We have a lot of fun planned for those days!

Park days

After that deep post yesterday, thought I would lighten the mood a bit with some fun park pictures ;) Derek had an off day so we went to the local park. It's a huge park and Colin was in love. Yesterday, Colin and I met some neighbors at the park and had a great time. So we figured Derek would love to join the fun too! Marjorie has a 2 year old and a 8 month old (Caitlin, she's so excited your moving here! Her daughter is a week younger than Eli). She and her kids are so sweet and Colin played so great with Graham! Many playdates are in our future with them!

 

Love sleeping babies:)

 

 

We had to lose the pants when the sun came out-too hot!

 

 

Such a cheesy smile!

 

Such a silly kid with these new faces! He could have lived in this tunnel and spent an hour going back and forth in it.

Yes, he climbed up the slide on his own, like 50 times. Hated having help too... but never slipped, haha. So determined and stubborn.

Loved swinging in mommy's lap! Lounged and watched the big kids play.

Find confidence and run with it!

Part of why I blog is to post pictures of our nugget to share with family and friends. Part of it is to print books each year for our family albums. And part of this blog is my journal. I love looking back at posts and reading what I was thinking and stay encouraged when there are tough days.

 

I have wonderful family members and friends that read this blog (usually at least 20 people a day read!) and many have young kids. I am fortunate to be part of a MOPS (moms of pre-schoolers) group. We are split into groups and have 'mentor moms'. Most of the moms have 3+kiddos. Its a fun group and full of support and encouragement.

 

Yesterday our meeting was focused on 'Be you bravely'. It hit home with me and most of my table (the baby table). We had some amazing speakers, women who overcame a lot in life...cancer, adoption, racism. The main focus was finding support within the 'mom community'. It made me think about the support I have and my support to others. Mom's don't always have it easy and it's ok to not know and do it all!

 

I have always been a head-strong, independent, *stubborn* person. I, of course, knew it all ;) Confidence was never an issue for me before Colin. Suddenly after having a baby, confidence in myself and my decisions for him collapsed. Worst feeling ever...that lasted so many months. I'm still a work in progress, but over the past few months I've come a long way and have been reading a lot on parenting and confidence. This MOPS meeting was a wonderful reminder to be 'you bravely' 100% of the time and be confident in that. In Colin's short 11 months, Derek and I have regretted making decisions based on what we've read or heard when we don't 100% believe in it. At the end of the day, we are more successful when we go with our instinct.

It's so difficult not to worry about every decision you make when you're a parent, and we are very new to this world still! It's in the bible not to fear or worry, God knows each of our days. I remind myself that I am who I am, and that's enough. I hate seeing moms tearing each other down and being judgmental. This has happened in my close friend circle and happens everywhere. We're on the same team!! I know I've been critical of my friends and siblings and picked on them about things they do with their kids. Why can't we all just encourage each other and just love on these sweet kiddos. MOPS's whole goal is to build each other up. So glad I'm a part of a great group.

I just think it's a good time in life to write this and look back to remember to be an encouragement to others. We have 2 kiddos moving in next month! I can't believe it's really happening and I'm so thrilled! I get my best friend back :) No more Skype, haha!

From now on, I'm proudly owning my decisions. 1st one being a stay at home mom. Yes, I terribly miss working. Having a career is part of my life dream. However, Colin rules right now, and I am going to fully embrace it. I will have plenty of years to work when he goes to school. I'll never get this sweet time back :)

Lunch date with Amber and Maddie! Adorable kids 5 weeks apart.

 Slumber party tonight! Colin decided to eat most of my hibachi salmon and veggies...yum!






 

GT 5-0

 Saturday we drove to Atlanta to watch the Jackets beat Miami for their 5th straight win! It was a fun weekend away and perfect weather! Since it was a night game we actually got to really tailgate. Copious amounts of football and food are always good ideas! It was also a big upset day for the top 10 teams, which didn't help our college brackets, but fun! The poor Vols lost to Florida. My parents had to witness from the 2nd row that sorry loss :(

 

FOOD! Kelly brought Travis, he's so cute with all his dark hair!

 

It was a white-out! Walmart hooked us up with hoodies!

 

 

Such a pretty view of downtown from the stadium! It was a close game.

 

Yummy breakfast close to the hotel. Definitely will be going back!

 

Sunday we went to the new College football Hall of Fame! It was a really neat place and you got to track your favorite teams.

 

 

Singing the fight song!

 

 

 

Extra point attempts...Derek was the only one who made it from our group. Barefoot, 3 times, and with his left foot too. Show off ;) He missed his true calling! 

 

Back to regular business today, Derek at work and me with CTP. We went to spend some time at my old work downtown today. Miss those ladies!! Now off to finish painting and head back to the gym after taking a long break from it...

Oh this boy :)

 Just like that, vacay is over :( It was an awesome week! Colin did SO good and we got a lot of good quality family time. We did about the same thing each day--go out to the beach around 9 and take a walk, let Colin nap in his stroller while we relaxed and read books, ate sandwiches on the beach for lunch, pool time, then nap for Colin in the condo. We got ready while he napped then it was dinner time! We got to eat at a few of our favorites and also tried a new place that was yummy! Colin ate so good and was a great dinner buddy. We always took an evening walk after dinner and played until Colin went to bed. Then adult time watching football, playing cards, and just catching up on life!

 

 Due to D's work schedule, there are times he's gone 4 days and comes home in the middle of the night and we only see him for a few minutes before he goes back. Thank goodness he only works 13-14 shifts and has big breaks like this past week! We have a lot in common, a big one being we love everything about a beach vacation :) I'm lucky to have an adventurous best friend! Looks like CTP enjoys our travels too!

 

Colin was so intrigued by it all this trip. He is so active now so we took a lot of walks :) He loved getting in the ocean and pool of course. He didn't care for the sand to be on his hands, he kept trying to lick it off. He loved watching the birds and we chased them a good bit, hehe :)

 

Cruising on everything, even the wagon! He loved his go-pod and munching on goldfish like his Nana at the beach ;)

 

Had to take some beach pictures the last evening! Oh the joys of photographing and wild boy who wants to get down and play, yet hated to touch the sand :) Thanks to me being the craziest dancer ever, Colin basically just laughed hysterically at me the whole time he sat! Warning-picture overload!

 

 

 

Love this precious guy!!!