Looking Back: Introducing Colin Gallagly

We are on a break from training now.  I trained two people (one on one) this morning and do not have to train anyone else until 1300...yes using the military time - never thought I would have the need to do that.  Now I am sitting in my hotel room; I did some work and should be working on homework, but would rather not. So, I thought I should write a blog for Master Colin, it has been a little while. 

While thinking of something to write about I realized that I have not written about Colin's birth and since that is his introduction into the world it would make sense to write about it in his blog.  My ultimate goal with this blog is to print out all of the entries and put them in a bound book, kind of like a journal for him. 

So...let's see. 

My pregnancy with Colin went pretty well.  I only vomited twice; once was due to the prenatal pills.  I ended up having to take Flintstones vitamins the rest of my pregnancy.  I was very fortunate, but to make up for that I had the feeling of nausea for 4 months rather than the traditional 3 (lucky me).  Poor Will too. The smell of beer, wine, meat and seafood made me feel sick.  I always felt bad telling him he had to brush his teeth every time he had a beer!  I also did not get an appetite until I was around 7 months along.  That is probably why I only gained about 20 lbs throughout the whole thing.  I was so excited when I started to feel really hungry.  I actually wanted to crave stuff.  I wanted that crazy appetite that most pregnant women get!

It took us three tries to find out Colin's sex.  He always had his legs crossed or was turned the wrong way.  He actually kept his legs crossed a lot when he was an infant as well.  I guess he was a bit shy, which I do not mind that!! 

We were never given an exact due date for Colin. It was always 11/30 or 12/1, but that did not matter because his mommy "cooks babies fast", or at least that is what my doctor told me as we were having Colin a week early.  Colin was always very active in my belly.  Constantly kicking, turning and punching my ribs!  He would take breaks every few hours, but our doctor warned us that most often kids are very similar to how they are in the womb and that she predicted that he was going to be very active, which turned out to be very accurate! It is tiring but good! Our doctor, who I LOVE and was so relaxed,  made us very comfortable from the start.  She said that she never saw such a stubborn baby (in the belly) and active one too.  The day before Colin's birth I noticed at work that he was not moving at all.  I called my doctor and she had us come in (I was very lucky that Will was able to come to all of my appointments).  She checked us out and even shocked my belly (without telling me) and made Colin move.  She told us to come in the next day to see if we needed to be induced.

We were a little nervous with the idea of him coming early.  My mom was supposed to fly in and be in the delivery room.  I liked the idea of having someone around who knew medical stuff (she's a nurse) and that had my families best interest at heart (not that I do not trust medical people! This hospital was actually really great).  So, we went in and were told we needed to be induced.  She was afraid that I would go into labor during the holiday (Thanksgiving) and she would not be there.  I was definitely happy to have her do it rather than someone on call.  We went in around 10 and they got us into our private room (had to pay extra for that but so worth it) and started the inducing process.  I will admit the contractions definitely hurt and the inducing process can make that a little more intense.  The doctor also had to break my water.  Then I got my epidural, well two of them.  The first only made my legs numb not the belly.  The second one worked wonders!

Once I started pushing it was only 20 minutes, I was very lucky and a great pusher according to my doctor!  During the labor there was only one scare, when mine and Colin's blood pressure dropped, but they put me on oxygen which seemed to help.  Once Colin was out, I guess there was a little trouble getting him to cry at first, but I was so out of it I really did not know what was going on.  Thankfully we were all healthy and ready to spend the next few days in the hospital.  We had to spend Thanksgiving there.  The food was actually pretty good, but that could be due to the fact that I was soooo hungry. 

Afterwards, my doctor told us that she was glad everything went so well.  She had been  worried about Colin since he was not moving the previous day,  his heart rate, and the fact that my placenta was getting really thin.  She said for some reason I had a placenta that looked like a smokers, which was weird since I did not smoke.  She was even nice enough to show me the placenta afterwards, definitely gross looking!  I am glad that she did not share her worries with us beforehand.  There was no need to cause extra stress.

So, we were blessed with our precious little boy on November 21, 2007.  I cannot believe that he will be three this year.  Crazy!

When Daddy is Away

I am taking a break from homework; accounting is not my favorite class.  I do not mind math and the concepts seem pretty straightforward so far, but there is just a lot of homework and I am already getting burnt out.  I just do not find it that interesting and the steps are so repetitive.  I am glad I just have to do the 100 level class and then no more.  

The above picture was from earlier this evening before storytime - just me and Colin goofing off.  He was hilarious!  He kept walking towards me so I barely got this shot.  I love my zoom capabilities on my camera but I need to get one that can zoom out more, which I had until it broke :( 

Not much point to this blog, just wanted to show my little cutie goofing off with mommy while daddy is away at band rehearsal.  We're bored!

Castle Park

Early this morning, in an attempt to wear out Colin for his nap (also because it is warm and beautiful outside) we ventured out to Castle Park.  It was our first time there and we REALLY liked it.  The playgrounds are separated by age groups, which is nice.  The playground for Colin's age group had a castle theme.  Since we left pretty early, we packed a little picnic breakfast (bagels, cream cheese and strawberries - yummy!) to enjoy at the park. We played for a bit, ate, then played some more.  The plan worked.  Colin slept for a few hours, which was enough time for us to finish painting the master suite.  I took pictures of the room with one of our older cameras (I was not going to risk getting paint on my SLR), so I need to go to the store and make a CD.  I will try to post them soon.

Here are some pictures from our little adventure this morning.

Colin recently started going down slides by himself.  Sometimes on big ones he needs a little push.  What can I say, he is a timid boy...but getting braver by the day! As a mom I do not mind that he is a bit cautious!

On a choo-choo slide.

The same choo-choo slide.

Very excited about something he saw...I think a dinosaur toy.

Daddy helping him across the scary castle bridge.

Enjoying the swing.

This one is from the other day, but he was just so proud of his messy face that I had to take a picture!

Hop Goes the Bunny!

Our first holiday in our new home! That actually happened pretty quickly (a week) so the house is  not totally ready, but it worked.  In the morning we hid some plastic and real eggs for Colin to find! He remembered Will's story about the Easter Buddy, so was very excited when he woke up.   The eggs led him down the staircase through the kitchen and all the way to the backdoor; where outside on the deck was a basket (or rather  a Spider-man bucket acting as an Easter basket) waiting for him. The Easter Buddy brought Colin some exciting goodies! He got a soccer pillow, an Iron Man night-lite, two new sippy cups, and some toy instruments!  Colin is learning about instruments and can even say the word (it is a little hard to understand at first but he tries).  We are using an instrument puzzle he has to show him how you would play the different ones.  So, when he says guitar he strums his fingers across his belly and then when he says trumpet he pretends he is blowing into his hands and so forth. Super cute!  So, the Easter Buddy brought him a harmonica, a little flute thing, and a whistle.  Hopefully, mommy and daddy will not dislike the Easter Buddy after a few days!

The Easter Buddy also remembered daddy's love for cadbury eggs!  How thoughtful of that Buddy ;)

Grandma B and Uncle Michael came up to celebrate with us and to enjoy an old fashioned Sunday meal (roast beef, cooked veggies and potatoes) - Yum, yum!  This was their first time seeing the house, so it was nice that they could see it in a decent state.  We had a great time celebrating the holiday with family.  Colin really enjoyed our guest!  He started off a little grumpy after waking up from his nap, but eventually he was true to form and enjoyed showing Michael and Liz his new instruments and what all of his favorite super heroes do (like Spider-man, Hulk, etc - it is hard to explain but hopefully I be able to film it soon).   One of his new favorite shows is Super Hero Squad - he loves it! 

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

"I did it, Mama - I did it"

This was the first year that Colin dyed eggs for Easter!  He was so pumped!  While I was getting the eggs ready, Will was telling Colin all about the Easter Bunny (or Easter Buddy in our household) and how he likes to come into kids houses and hide their eggs!  He also may leave a special treat if the child has been REALLY good.  Colin seemed to understand more than we thought he would and was so excited that a buddy would be coming to visit him. 

Here are some pictures of Colin coloring his eggs.  He actually did really well and did not make a mess at all. 

I included this picture, even though I am so obviously exhausted.  My "cheese" looks a little strained, but Colin looked so cute - so a mother sacrifices :)

One of Colin's new phrases is "I did it _____, I did it!" (*insert name of Mama or Daddy depending on the audience).  So, he would say that after he put an egg in the cup of dye.

It's Coming Along

A  lot of people have been asking about our house and how it is coming along, so...

We have been able to accomplish quite a bit in our first week here.  We are mostly unpacked and organized and the boxes that we have not made it to yet are neatly stacked in the room they belong in.  Will has started getting his Man room organized.  He got his new drum set all ready for him to practice in the corner and Colin's train table is set up in the other!  We have started to organize the lowest level (which will be our fun and relaxed area, so there will be toys set up for Colin). We still need a couch though.  Will's new TV is also ready to go (cable guy came this morning) and Colin has his little toy chest and basketball hoop displayed.

The kitchen is getting there.  We are planning on sprucing up the cabinets and getting new counter-tops, but for now I have it organized the way I like and even have room to spare!  Now I have an excuse to go shopping for the kitchen appliances I have been waiting on!  The Living room is waiting on our couches.  We have the other furniture already.  It will be nice to have a couch! 

Colin's room is all organized and we have hung up a few things.  He has a mix themes. We did not want to tie him down to just one, since he is getting to the age of having his own likes.  He has some pooh decor (lamp, snow globe), some transportation  (mostly firetrucks - a cute lamp and his measuring thing), and also some Super hero items (like his iron man night-lite and his spider-man poster)...so exciting!  I'll post pictures of that once we figure out if we want to paint it or not. 

The guest room - not even started yet, but I am going to use that room for traveling pictures and decor (pictures that I take on my future trips and some of Will's from Ireland, Paris, etc).  Will is in the process of ordering a world map so I can mark the places we have been. I want to do a different color pin for Will, myself, and Colin!

I also have not started on any of the bathrooms, but will hopefully soon.

The first room that we have really focused is the Master Suite!  We ordered our bedroom set (hopefully that will be here soon) and started painting.  We did our first coat and need to do the second one this week.  We have new curtains and put in new doorknobs.  These changes have totally transformed the place!  This will be the darkest color in the house.  One of the main things we love about this house is that it is so open and airy.  Will wants the feel of a beach type house without the beach (of course).  So, we are doing mostly light breezy colors that will keep the house open.  I wanted to do a darker color in the bedroom though.  I have always like darker bedrooms and just loved this color.

I will post pictures soon....