2 month check up

(Look how I can sit on daddy's lap and hold my head up like a big boy!)

We had our two month check up today. Colton is doing GREAT! Here are the stats..
11lb 8 oz- 50th %
22 1/2 inches - 25th %
16 inches- head circumference - 75th % (he has a lot of brain in there!)
The Dr. thought Colton was growing and progressing very nicely. We agree! Here are some of the things he's learning and working on...
~He is sleeping through the night (still in the swing).

~He loves to "talk" saying "Ah- goo" and "ahhhhh".

~He responds to people with the best smiles and has even had a few little giggles.

~He sticks out his tongue and blows bubbles. (Something only a mommy could be proud of!)

~ Speaking of things only a mommy could be proud of, he is learning to burp. Or it's just getting easier for him. For a while he would not burp after a feeding and it made for a very upset tummy by the evening so I am ecstatic when he burps after a feeding. The evening crying sessions have decreased greatly since we figured this one out!

~He loves to "dance" kicking his feet and moving his arms to the music.

~He holds his head up while he's laying on his belly at a 90 degree angle. In fact, the Dr. was extremely impressed with him today. She said he's doing it as well as most 4 month olds.

~He is trying desperately to find his thumb and put it in his mouth but his hands aren't cooperating!

~This week we also hit a huge milestone. COLTON ROLLED OVER!!!! He rolls from his tummy to his back. I was able to capture it on video the 2nd time he did it, for daddy, but I am not sure how to post it on here so I have pictures...

Here I go...

Ready...Roll...
WOW! I did it and Mommy is so excited...whats the big deal? I just wanted to be on my back!

We are so proud of our little guy! We feel very blessed to have a healthy happy baby! He has had a tough evening after his shots so we are off to cuddle some more.

EXCITING NEWS!!!

On the night of Colton's 2 month birthday he slept ALL night long and has slept through the night the past two nights as well!!! Only one problem...He has been sleeping in his swing and not his bed. I feel like we are creating a monster! I foresee this habit being very hard to break. I've heard about a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block, it's suppose to be wonderful, it teaches you the 5s's of calming your baby. A friend from work swears by it. I am hoping it will give me some ideas to help Colton sleep through the night in bed. I know he is ready to sleep through the night. The past few weeks he has been going to bed around 11 or 12 and getting up around 2 or 3. When he wakes up for that middle of the night meal its only a snack. He eats very little and is right back to sleep. The second part of the night I always put him in his swing and he sleeps another 4-5 hours. When I put him down in his bed I feel like he doesn't get a very good night sleep. He fidgets and moves around so much while he's sleeping that he wakes himself up. Until I can get out to get the book bring on the swing! Life is a lot easier with a good night sleep and mommy is so much more fun! Any ideas or tricks from fellow mommies would be much appreciated!

**Mommy update...
It's been 4 days since my surgery and I am feeling better. It is taking me a little longer to recover than I thought it would. I am still having a little trouble lifting Colton or holding him close to my stomach or right side. I am so grateful to my parents, Zak's parents, and my amazing husband for all of their help. Zak took over baby duty and has done an amazing job with Colton. He has had to juggle taking care of a two month old, a very sore mommy, his new position at work, and all of the house work. I know he's exhausted but it doesn't show, he just keeps going and going. I have really enjoyed seeing him with Colton. I think they have really bonded over the past few days. I go back to the Dr. on the 8th for my Post Op visit. I am looking forward to putting this behind me and moving on. I'm ready to be back to my normal healthy self. I've been pregnant or sick for the last year!

Future Fighting Irish?

"Touchdown Jesus" as explained by Wikipedia...

The Notre Dame stadium is known for its view of "Touchdown Jesus", a nickname given to the large mural of the resurrected Jesus entitled "the Word of Life" which is located on the Hesburgh Library, looming over the stadium mirroring the raised arms of a referee signifying a touchdown.




My dad has lovingly nicknamed Colton "Touchdown Jesus" because of the sweet way he sleeps.







Colton also LOVES the Notre Dame fight song. Since Colton was born Zak has hummed the fight song to calm him and it works every time!


In honor of Zak's Fantasy Football Draft we dressed Colton up for the big day! GOOD LUCK DADDY!!!

From Daddy With Love...

From the moment we found out we were pregnant Zak has been looking for the perfect gift for Colton. He wanted to find something for his room that was special from daddy. Last weekend while we were at Katy Mills Mall in Bass Pro Shop Zak found stuffed deer and moose shoulder mounts. He loved them and thought they were the coolest things ever. I tried desperately to talk him out of buying them. I thought I won until Thursday evening when he brought a "surprise" home and vanished into Colton's bedroom. I knew what he was doing...10 minutes later this is what we found...



...At least they are not real!

Welcome back to the world of hamburgers and fried chicken! (As a friend of mine told me today)

I had my Gallbladder removed today. I developed Gallstones during my pregnancy which, I'm told, is pretty common. I experienced weird back and chest pain throughout my whole pregnancy and around week 25 it got too much to handle. After a visit to my Dr. and an ultra sound I was diagnosed with Gallstones. The only way to get rid of the gallstones was surgery to remove my Gallbladder and I was too late in my pregnancy to have it removed safely. 5 months later... it's gone!!! I am feeling as good as can be expected considering everything my body has been through in the past months. I was extremely groggy and in quite a bit of pain when I first got home this evening around 6 but I've slept all evening. My pain medicine is great so I am feeling okay right now. My surgery was at 12:30 this afternoon so Zak and I dropped Colton at Nanny's house and went to the hospital around 11. The surgery started a little late but went very smooth. Zak even got pictures from the Dr. YUCK...I'll spare you and not post them! :) When we got home my mom and dad brought Colton over and had dinner for Zak. Before surgery I had my mind set on Chinese food for dinner. After surgery I was told to be very careful for the next two weeks with my diet, staying low fat, so I enjoyed a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I guess I understand, my body needs to learn to function without a Gallbladder. When I woke up from surgery I was hungry but definitely DID NOT want Chinese. I've waited this long so I guess I can wait 2 more weeks! When I'm feeling better I will be making up for lost time. Anyone want to go to dinner? Zak is on baby duty for the weekend. For at least the next couple of days they don't want me lifting the baby, even if I feel like I might be able to. I really need to take things slow. I tend to over do it and in the long run that will just make things harder. The nurse today told me not to do any house work for at least two weeks...DARN! Does that mean cooking dinner too??? In two weeks I'll go back to my Dr. to see how I've healed. I am so grateful that I am on maternity leave and have plenty of time to recover. I have so many people around me taking great care of me. I feel lost not being able to pick up the baby, I haven't even been able to hold him tonight, but I know for right now it's what's best. The Dr. made 4 incisions to remove my Gallbladder so my stomach is not looking too hot right now and is very tender. Hopefully I won't have big scars.
Well, its taken me a very long time to write this. I'm not a great writer to start with and the drugs are not helping anything! :) Thank you for the calls and emails to check on me. I appreciate it so much!

Well..its offical!!

Well..Its official...today is the first day of my maternity leave. I will be off work for 12 weeks with my little guy and I am so excited about it. I worked, for the last two weeks, tying up loose ends at school. I attended two classes last week and I also worked in my classroom trying to get it ready for the new group of kiddos and my great substitute.

Post is under construction and things were a disaster while I was up there! Everything has come an awful long way but it was still pretty crazy when I left on Thursday. Here is a picture of where my old classroom use to be. (This was in July.)

After hours of rearranging my furniture in my new portable classroom with my dad and Zak we did all we could do. The class is smaller than my old classroom so it was hard to fit all of the junk I had accumulated over the past 5 years into my new room. I am actually excited about the portables. It' ll be a new spin on everything and I'll be sharing the portable with Kellie so I am sure we will have some fun. Like I said before, when I left last Thursday things were still so hectic; workers, custodians, teachers, and administration were everywhere trying to get ready for kids. I am counting my blessings that I'll miss the first few weeks of school. Hopefully by the time I get back they will have things figured out. I know they have to change so many procedures from loading buses to just walking the kids around the school. Half of the school is still in the old building and the other half (including nurse, principals office, front office, music and art) is out doors.

Here are some pictures of my finished classroom. I'm not sure how 20 some odd kids are gong to fit but I guess we will make do! The pictures actually make it look a lot bigger then it is.

I am no longer allowed to go up to the school. I can't go up for meet the teacher or open house, I really can't even go up and visit my team for lunch because of the Family Medical Leave Act. I think this is the best things for me because if I was able to go up, I would. Now I have 12 weeks of no work to spend with this little chunky monkey!!!! I know its going to go way too fast so I'm going to enjoy every single second!!!

...and its only Saturday!!!

So far its been a great weekend and its only Saturday!!! Yesterday I got Colton all dressed up for Friday night dinner with Grandad, Nanny , Aunt Becky and Daddy. We went down to Montros and ate at Niko Nikos. Its a small Greek restaurant with really great food. We usually sit outside and enjoy the beautiful Houston weather :) but last night it started to rain when we got down there so all 6 of us squeezed into a table made for 4. Colton's car seat was not made to save space. Our table was so cramped but it was fun. After dinner we hung out for a few hours at Nanny and Grandad's and Colton was exhausted after his night out on the town!
On Saturday morning we got up super early. Colton played on his new baseball blanket from Stacey. He is so much fun to watch and play with. He smiled and laughed and moved around making great noises and "talking" to mommy and daddy until it was time for a bath and breakfast #2! Don't you love his Hurley onesie from Aunt Taylor. On the back it says "My soul belongs to Rock and Roll!" So great!
We spent the afternoon roaming around Katy Mills Mall with the rest of Katy Texas. After the mall we made our first trip to Paw Paw and Grandma's house to visit, eat and play some more. We ended the day with dinner at Luby's and a drive to Hockly Texas. Zak's dream is to own a bunch of land somewhere in Texas and he just loves to drive around and find new areas. (He is still trying to convince me that small town living is the way to go!)

Now both of my guys are fast asleep, Zak on the couch and Colton in his car seat. I just love what we have... I am so blessed!

We have had a great weekend... and its only Saturday!!!!

Family Photo Shoot

A few weeks a go we had our first family photo shoot. It was a lot of fun and Colton was a little star. As you can see he slept through most of the pictures.

Newborn No More!!!

Colton has hit a major growth spurt over the past week and has grown out of his newborn clothes and most of the 0-3 outfits. I have to say I'm sad, very sad, he is no longer that skinny tiny little baby we brought home from the hospital. He is growing into quite a little man! I am not sure how much he weights now but about a week and a half ago ( 7/29) he was 9lbs and 21 1/2 inches long. I know he is filling out and chunking up but he is growing in length by the minute. At the beginning of the week he was eating every 1-2 hours and now, thankfully, he has slowed down a bit and is eating every 3 hours or so. He is growing like a little weed. Yesterday I put him in my favorite newborn outfit one last time and by the end of the day we had unbutton the bottom. So, sadly, that outfit is being washed, ready for the next little one. (In many many years!) Colton will be 7 weeks old on Tuesday (8/12).

Last weekend Colton got to meet with some of Zak's best friends from high school for the very first time. Aron and Lisa were in town from California so we all met at Dan and Phyllis' house to celebrate their arrival and Phyllis' birthday. This was Colton's first "party" and he did great! He got so much love from everyone there and slept through most of the evening. I thought I'd share some of the pictures with you guys (all we needed was Josh to round out the high school crowd.) ENJOY!

Aron with our little family

Ford and Colton

Love this picture... We think Colton has very large feet for his size but nothing like Mr. Ford!!!

Grammy Phyllis (Arons Mom)