Friday, February 18, 2011

A Princess in Heaven


Yesterday, one of my closest and dearest friends, Kellie, got the news that no parent should ever have to hear. Her sweet 4 month old baby girl, Madison Paige (Maddie), went to play with the angels. Her passing was totally unexpected and is still a bit of a mystery. You can read more about it on Kellie's blog (see my side bar). I spent some time with Kellie, her husband and their family at the hospital yesterday and I can't imagine what they are going through. My heart is so broken I can't focus on a single thing except sweet Maddie. Kellie has been an amazing friend to me in the 4 years we've know each other. Shes one of those friends you know you can always count on whether its for a surprise Starbucks or a shoulder to cry on. In this horrible time of need I wish I could take away some of her pain but I know I can't do that so I'll just stand by her side and do whatever I can to help her know she (and James, her husband) are so very loved.

Sweet Little Princess Maddie,
I so enjoyed having you here on earth with us. I loved your perfect little round head and that sweet smile you gave me the last few times I saw you. I loved the precious outfits your momma dressed you up in each day with matching bows and socks. I loved your cuddles and to watch you devour a bottle. You were a perfect little princess here on earth and I know you are now a perfect little princess with God. You will never be forgotten. Watch over your mommy and daddy and your grandparents and keep them safe as their special Guardian Angel.
Love you,
Catherine

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy ♥ Day

Happy ♥ Day from the cutest kid in the world! We've had a really great day. It started with a gift from mommy and daddy and heart shaped sprinkle pancakes. After breakfast, Barrett came over to play for a little bit. After "fi's"and nuggets for lunch and a nap, we had a visit from Baa, Nanny and Grandad for even more Valentine goodies. We ended the night hanging out with Daddy and eating pizza for dinner. It was laid back, low key and just the way I wanted to celebrate a day of love! What a perfect Valentine's Day!





On Thursday, Colton had his first school valentine party. Here he is with one of Ms. Leslie and Ms. Shirlys Valentines. He was so excited to bring them to school and give them to them. He loves "Ms. Shashy". That's what he calls his teachers. I think, in some way, he's muddled both names together into one name.
These are the Valentines I made for his class. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Sprinkled Marshmallow Pops. (They were YUMMY but Colton just wanted to eat the chocolate and sprinkles off. He left the marshmallow.)
Here he is with all of his loot. He was really excited I let him eat all of the candy in his box. Thankfully there were only a couple pieces.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Big Brother gets a Big Boy Room

Today was the day we put together Colton's Big Boy Room. I have been so excited about getting it ready for him but so nervous about taking him out of his crib. I realize it's time (since hes 2 years 7 months old and we need to pass the crib down) but he has been such a phenomenal sleeper and he loves his crib so much. He sleeps from about 8:45PM to about 7:30-8AM and some days will play in his crib for up to an hour just laughing and talking, having the best time. He goes down really easily at night but at nap he has a little more trouble getting to sleep. Once hes asleep he's out for 2 to 3 hours, if not more.
My thought on it all was once he sees his big boy room there would be no going back to the nursery no matter how easy it would be for any of us. We have been making a big deal out of him being a big boy and he knows his nursery will be Chases room.

Today he handed down his nursery and moved into his Big Boy Room.

Here is the before picture... And after...



After spending the morning with Nanny, Grandad and Baa,( so the reveal could be a complete surprise) he was so excited to see his room. He was so cute when he went in running around like he'd never seen any of the toys before. He kept saying, "My woom!"

Unfortunately, this picture was staged...
This is NOT how bed time went!

After spending the afternoon playing in his new room and mommy and daddy talking a lot about him sleeping in his new room, we started his nighttime routine. A bath , his prayers and a little rocking...then it was time. We started a little early and put him down at 8:00. He was up and out of bed crying for us immediately and this continued for about 20 minutes. We continued to just hug him, put him back into bed and tell him he was okay and we'd be here. He was scared, we didn't know what to do, it broke my heart. After 20 minutes Zak walked him to bed and made him get in bed by himself. He said "Don't you like your new room?" Colton said, "No Daddy. I no like it." Zak decided he'd sit with him and let him know he was safe. After about 5 minutes, Colton was asleep. (We knew he had worn himself out and he hadn't had a nap.) Unfortunately, while I was putting up the cat so she'd stay out of the room, Sadie snuck in to say "Hi", waking him up. After about 5 more minutes he was back asleep and the whole ordeal was over by 8:31PM. We won't make a habit of staying with him 'til he falls asleep but we needed him to know he was safe.
*** He woke up once in the night at 4am and came straight into our room crying. I took him back to bed and rubbed his head for about 10 minutes. He wasn't playing or being silly, just laying there, wide awake. When I went for a potty break Zak took over after about 10 minutes. Zak laid down on the floor and fell asleep. I went back to bed and watched Colton lay in bed on the monitor until he fell asleep about 5:10. At 9am he came running in saying "Pay in my woom." He found daddy's glasses, handed them to him and expected him to put them on and get in there to play! :)
I think, although my heart broke for him, the first night went pretty well. Nap tomorrow...that maybe a different story. Just like everything we know it'll take time.
Speaking of taking time. We've been at the potty training for just over two weeks now. Coltons doing really well. He has even been asking and using the potty while we we're out. Although I got a travel potty seat, I take his floor potty everywhere with us and he uses it in the back of the car. (As you saw last weekend!) Last Thursday, he had an accident free day at school and he has many more accident free days than not. He does really good unless there's just too much going on.
It's still a transition for him and now were throwing another huge transition at him. Why not kill two birds with one stone and get it all done together?
I have no doubt that in a month or so this will all just be a distant memory and he will be use to his new "Big Boy Roles". ( I guess his biggest "Big Boy Role" is still yet to come!) He's such a good kid!
UPDATE*** A week and a half in and Colton is doing great in his room. Our mornings do start earlier and earlier each day but Colton just comes into us and sits in bed. Yesterday and today he came in and sat and whispered to himself until he heard us wake up and talk to him. Once he gets into bed with us he gets a little demanding wanting juice and the tv on or for us to read a book. Maybe if we hold off on giving those things to him it wont be so exciting to get out of bed so early .... Maybe?!?!?! Hes sleeping through the night most nights but has gotten up on 1 or 2 occasions. He goes back to bed very easily. At night he goes down pretty easy after our bedtime routine of pjs, teeth, and rocking. Naps are going better then I expected they would but they are not near as long as before. He sleeps between an hour or two (if Im lucky (I know I was spoiled)). He has a little more trouble staying in bed at the beginning of nap. Yesterday, for the first time, I found him laying on the floor working under his tool bench 10 minutes after I put him in bed. I just picked him up put him in bed and told him to stay in bed. Thankfully he was tired and stayed in bed talking for a few minutes and finally fell asleep. All in all he is doing really well. He's always been a good sleeper and were proud of him!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Bass Pro Boat Show

After going to Autorama in November Colton has been obsessed with "Shows". So, this weekend we headed to Bass Pro Shop for a Boat Show. Colton enjoyed a morning out with three of his favorite things, Boats, a "Show" and Bass Pro Shop, his all time favorite store. We received the Bass Pro Shop add early in the week advertising the Boat Show and Colton read the add all week long and talked about going to the Boat Show constantly. We got up early Sunday morning, stopped for "holes" and headed out to the Boat Show.
Colton was in absolute heaven. He enjoyed every second of crawling through all of the boats.





I'm not sure if I'm a bad mommy for posting this one, and I know Colton will hate me for it one day, but half way through our visit we had to stop for a potty break. I couldn't resist a picture.
After a quick potty break we spent some time seeing what makes Bass Pro Shop such a fun place for a boy and his dad!





I never thought I could have so much fun walking around a store, full of things I have no interest in but I haven't smiled so much in a long time. We had such a great morning together. I love hanging out with these boys!